Monster Gauntlet
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: To be the best, you've got to beat the best. The same goes for power. To get it, you've got to take it. - Part of the Remember Me Series.
1. Chapter 1

The train station was down, in Magnolia, so she could either wait it out or just continue on foot. The decision was annoying to make at the time, but the choice it forced turned out to be for the better as Haven couldn't help, but to feel as if the city was better taken in that way. From a distance. As she approached, the skyline coming into view more and more with each step taken, it was hard not to feel a pang of shame wash over her, drowning out the nervous and uncertainty that had hung over her heart for the past few weeks.

For years, the only thing she'd been able to imagine as a kid was never seeing it again. The guildhall eclipsing all, standing tall over the city, and insignia that used to rest there, on her back, flapping from the flags that waved gently in the breeze. To finally have done it, to finally have put the whole place behind her, for it not to be a dream, but a reality…

There was just something about it. The idea of it. That she'd gone through so much, in those past few years, but there was the guildhall, where it always was. Fairy Tail. It would outlast them all.

Everything felt so different, but nothing had changed, really, because the streets were all the same, the familiar faces were no longer there or, if they were, they weren't so recognizable through glances now, yet it was all the same. Everything was the same. Other than her. Other than the others, she was sure.

But as a town, it all felt much as it had the last time she was in it, days from being seventeen. Now on the cusp of twenty, she couldn't even put herself back into that mindset she held, when she was fleeing home, convinced it would be much better elsewhere, anywhere. Right and wrong. The town had sucked, or at least her situation within it, nostalgia couldn't convince her of otherwise, but the rest of the world was harsh in other ways. She'd felt restricted, within the parameters of her father's guildhall, but freedom came at a price.

Everything came at a price.

There were people that she didn't know, a lot of them, milling around the guildhall gates and on the grounds and Haven felt like she was the one out of place, rather than the one who'd grown up inside of the building's stable walls. Her family name was entrenched in the halls, yet she got some stares as she entered, the doors feeling heavier, somehow, as she pushed them open.

The tables were different. A new style. She knew about that from her letters with her mother. The woman herself didn't seem to be around. She knew she wouldn't be though, from her letters with Marin. The stage was fucked up and going to be remodeled soon. Locke had told her about that, in a letter, how his father and hers had gotten into a brawl over it, when Black Steel decided, no, fuck it, he could play his guitar wherever he wanted! The never-ending fight.

It felt weird to see such a mixture of people she both knew and didn't know, ones she once had and ones she never did, to just all be there, in her home. Maybe that's why she'd avoided it for so long, coming back; it was one thing to declare you didn't belong, it was another to have it plainly drawn out for you.

Marin was very diligently working her way through the crowded hall, filling beers and depositing plates of food. She'd more than taken her mother's place, then, as the daily staple. Mira was still, of course, the head barmaid, but a considerable amount of time on her schedule was now lost and Marin seemed just fine, filling in completely.

She was about the age Haven had been, when she first took off, and was finding her place, in her own way, in her guild, just fine.

"You're home."

Her sister grinned though, when she saw her, and nearly dropped the serving tray she was carrying. Haven nodded as Marin was moving then, to drop the tray on a table and rush to hug her.

"You didn't say you would be," Marin muttered softly. "You just said you were leaving where you were staying and you'd write when you got where you were going."

"I decided to come home instead. Is that a problem?"

But her sister couldn't answer because her presence was noted then, by her mother's brother, who'd been happily slamming down drinks with some of the younger mages. He thought he might have had one too many, when he first noticed the girl, but no, yep, that was her.

"Haven!" Elfman couldn't help it. The sight alone made him bawl. "Where have you been?"

"Away," she said simply as she managed to dodge his hug. His antics were getting some attention then as she got a yell out of some of the people who recognized her as well as, still, years out, some weary glances from others. "But I'm back now."

"Are you?" her sister asked with something of a frown.

She didn't get a chance to answer though. She was tackled then, literally, to the ground, nearly taking Marin down with her as well.

"Haven! You're home!"

"Damn it, Jack, what's wrong with you?"

Ajax couldn't help it. Just seeing her there felt like a dream. His eyes were watering some as he pinned his cousin there, on the ground, staring down at her in surprise. He'd been very busy, before, hanging out with the twin Dragneel boys, but he'd heard her speaking and instinct took over.

His big cousin was home…

"Are you going to get off me?" But she was already shoving him and yeah, that was definitely Haven. "And what happened to your hair?"

Stumbling over himself, he got to his feet before reaching down for the woman, to help her up. "I died it. Blue. On the tips. Like Dad."

"You look stupid."

He looked older. Than when she'd last seen him, over a year ago, in Crocus. A lot. Fitter, taller, as he edged himself towards being a teenager.

But he only grinned, childishly with all his teeth, when she said this and yeah, he was still Ajax.

"Where is everybody?" she asked her sister after dusting off.

"W-Well, Dad's here, in his office-"

"Yeah, great. Who else?"

"Mom's at home, Aunt Lisanna will be here, soon, I bet, because she has a shift and, Elf, I dunno if you know, but Evergreen is...where?"

He sniffled some, still rubbing at his eyes. "A job."

"Right," Marin went on and her head was spinning a bit, which made it hard to keep things straight. "Then Bickslow is too. Right? And Freed? Oh! They went on one together. That's it. And-"

"Marin, I'm not talking about-"

"Kai," she went on, "is cleaning up, somewhere around here, and then-"

"Where," Haven finally asked because she was clearly not getting anywhere, waiting for Marin to figure out what she wanted, "is Locke?"

"O-Oh. Uh...not on a job, but I haven't seen him today. Ravan is though. On a job."

"What about Navi?"

Ajax couldn't help it. He snickered softly, into his hand while Marin only grinned.

"Nav's just a member in name now, I guess," the younger Dreyar girl said with a bit of a shrug. "Did I not tell you? In my letters? Or do you not actually read them?"

That made Haven frown before glaring. Who was Marin to question her? She'd been back five minutes and already was reminded why she'd left.

Kind of.

"You should talk to your old man." Elfman was finally done weeping it seemed as he came over to pat his niece on the head, thoroughly messing up her hair. "Haven. He'll wanna see you. I know that the two of ya don't have the, uh, best communication skills, but if you're joinin' back up, it's best for him to hear it from you first."

"I never said," she told him with a frown before stepping away then, "that I'm joining back up."

She hadn't. And she didn't intend to. Both Elfman and Marin blinked though, as she turned to walk off. Ajax rushed after her though, following the blonde right back out of the guildhall.

"Okay, so I've made a horrible mistake and there's a toilet back there that's totally overflowing and I don't know how that happened because I was just trying to clean it- What's up?" Kai frowned when he found Marin out on the floor, not serving people or doing anything, other than standing at one end of the bar, as Kinana worked on without her. "Are you okay? Oh, Marin, I'll fix the toilet all on my own. Swear. I think maybe I might have accidentally flushed, like, a washcloth down it, maybe, I don't know, but if you find one down in the pipe, then yeah, I did, but if you don't, let's just pretend like-"

"Haven's back."

"Who?"

"Haven, Kai."

He glanced about then and could see that, clearly, something had gone on, given how animated certain people were, but no one else seemed to be making a huge fuss.

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean? Of course I am. She was just here."

He nodded slowly and moved to pat her on the shoulder though he did manage to stop himself, when he remembered his gloved hands had just been, you know, in a toilet.

"Is she okay?"

"I think so."

"Are you?"

"I guess."

"Well… Should I ask someone else to figure out this toilet situation? Or-"

"Kai," she groaned, but he only grinned at her and everything was okay. She was sure. Just off kilter for the moment. "Why did you flush a washcloth down-"

"It clearly wasn't on purpose, Marin."

"Dad's going to take this out of your check, you know."

He knew. It was, after all, what happened every time he fucked something up. And he was always fucking something up.

As he knew he wouldn't be getting off anytime soon, having to deal with the mess he'd, admittedly, created, Haven was actually headed there. To the little home the teen lived in with his older brother and Fairy Tail's local swordwoman.

"Why are we here? Haven?" Ajax finally asked when most of his other questions got ignored or she flat out told him to just shut up. As they stood outside of the Scarlet residence however, he found that he had to start his inquiries up once more. "You heard Marin; Ravan's out and Kai was up at the guild."

"I'm not," the woman told him simply as she marched up the steps, him hanging back a bit, "here for them."

It took a minute or more, after she knocked on the door, for it to be opened. And when it did, there was Titania Erza, not in her armor, but rather just in shorts and a shirt, looking pained at first, though this quickly fled into a mixture of surprise.

"Haven Dreyar." She didn't invite them in. "It has been a bit. I assume that life has treated you well?"

She nodded, just a bit, before remarking softly, "Better than it has you."

Erza still only stood there as Ajax kicked some, at the ground, behind his cousin. Ignoring the boy, Erza spoke only to Haven as she asked, "Why have you come? I am not dead. If it is to pay respects, information has not reached you in its true form."

"I know you're not dead. I never heard you were dead. Just gravely injured."

"I prevail. I'm mortal, yes, but I prevail." Still, she took a step back with a grimace, to allow the cousins entrance then. "A bit late, you know, if you came all the way here to see about me."

"I didn't."

"Good." Once they were in, she shut the door before hobbling back over to the couch, where she fell down with something of a grunt. "Forgive me for not offering you two much, but I assume you're here for a specific purpose. If it is to see either of the boys, they are not here currently."

"I'm not here to pay my respects," Haven told her with a bit of a shrug as she and Ajax stood before the woman, "but I am here to see you."

"Not much I can help you with. In my current condition. If you have run into trouble outside of the city, you are much better off speaking with your family than you are me. Unless...you've come to gawk? Many have. Many think that I will never be whole again, but I assure you, I will. And those who came merely to mock-"

"I'm back in town to deal with some other stuff. Personal stuff." Haven shrugged and she felt so awkward. Not just because Erza was awkward (the woman just had that vibe) or because, for her entire childhood, she'd never once felt a cordial feeling towards the older woman, but rather because… She looked weak. And powerless. Not like herself. "What would I look like if I didn't at least check in on you? When you're….ill."

"I am no longer your guild elder. I have not been for some time."

"You're still Ravan's mom. Or whatever you are." She shrugged some. "I just wanted to know if...you needed something."

Erza was suspicious, Haven could tell, but she just refused to look at the woman. Ajax kept swallowing because his throat felt dry and it was more than just awkward for him; it was down right misery. They were both putting out vibes that he didn't understand and his discomfort levels were astronomical.

"No," the older woman said slowly. "I do not. I thank you, however, for your concern. It is...good to see that you have been safe in your journeying. Have you found all that you left home looking for?"

"Not," Haven replied, "exactly."

"Yes, well, it is good to take a break at times. Restart. I assume that is your plans here?" At the blonde's nod, Erza gave one of her own. "Hopefully you will be here when Ravan returns. I am sure he will enjoy seeing you. If not, then I will inform him of your visit."

"I guess I'll see you around," Haven offered with a shrug. "Erza."

"Perhaps."

As the blonde left though, Ajax bowed to the woman before rushing after his cousin. Once they were outside and walking away from the house, he found he had a new question.

"Now where are we-"

"Just shut up, 'jax."

He could do that.

If it just meant he could keep walking with her.

She allowed this, all the way across town to the Redfox home. He had questions and comments, but kept them to himself. It took a lot for the boy to do this; he was naturally inquisitive and noisy. He was his father's son. Still, his silence was what allowed her to hear it as they approached.

"I told ya, boy, if you're not gonna even fuckin' try-"

"I am trying! And I'm not a fucking boy, I'm-"

"You're my boy! And who do you think you're talkin' to?"

She completely bypassed the front door, Haven did, instead heading to the gate that surrounded the backyard and opening it with little caution. Ajax, who heard Gajeel's loud arguing, held many more.

"You guys still train with one another? In the backyard? Is he finally gonna teach you how to land a flush punch, Locke?"

They'd been face to face, foreheads pressed to one another, the father and son were, as they glared and looked about ready to sock the other. Gajeel looked old as fuck to Haven, but then, she always thought he looked old as fuck, and Locke was different, in little ways, but mainly the fact that his hair, once more, was a long, tangled mass of darkness. At the sound of the gate opening though, as well as the woman's voice, they separated slowly, Locke blinking dumbly at her for a moment while Gajeel's glare remained. In fact, it became harder.

"Haven," the slayer snorted as his son ran across the small yard then, over to the woman. "The fuck you think you are? Just comin' on into my backyard like this?"

"I think," Pantherlily snickered from where Ajax saw him then, sitting nearby on the back porch, sucking on a kiwi, "you just said exactly who she is."

"What are you doing here?" Locke tossed his arms around her easily and it was so much different this time. Seeing one another for the first time, in a long time, than it had been before. The year prior. Maybe actually saying goodbye did have its merits. Along with letters. Wow. "Haven? Are you alright?"

"Why does everyone ask that?" she complained, but only softly, into his chest, as she smiled against the fabric of his shirt. It was drenched with sweat and gross, but after a life on the road, she'd been around far worse. "When have I ever not been?"

Constantly. But he only hugged her tighter, just in case.

Gajeel's mood was already foul though and didn't improve any when his soon took off then, drenched in sweat yet not nearly close to being finished with their session. He watched him go with a glare while Pantherlily merely wished the now trio on their merry way.

"Cheer up, Gajeel," his Exceed insisted. "Locke clearly has."

"What should I do tomorrow, huh? Stupid cat," he complained. "When she leaves again and he's right back to mopin' around like he's lost his entire being?"

"What you usually do, I guess." He licked the kiwi juice from his furry paws as he said, "Kick him while he's down."

"Fucking cat."

But Locke felt like he was walking on the moon as he left. Unlike Ajax, who was still sentenced to silence (he was starting to feel this was extremely unfair), Locke not only allowed questions, but was having them answered.

"I can't just come back?"

Well, with riddles.

"You haven't," Locke pointed out as they walked along, beside one another, as Ajax trailed behind. "At all. In nearly three years."

"If I hadn't seen you in Crocus, maybe I would have."

"We saw one another for, like, a day."

"It was two."

"Haven-"

"One and a half."

"You were, like, half a continent away, last time you wrote me," he went on. "And you didn't say you were headed this way."

"Something changed."

"But-"

"I was close by," she insisted simply and he believed her, for some reason, so easily. "Came to stop in. Why's that weird? This was my home too, once."

He could only nod. "Yeah. Once."

There were no questions, however, when they made it to the Dreyar residence. Haven hesitated, outside of it, the two guys made no comment on it. But eventually, she was up the steps and moved to knock, just about, before, instead, she tried the door.

"Mom?" she called out, softly, when she found it unlocked. "Are you… I'm home."

The living room was dark and looked different, really. Almost dream like in the way that it was enough the same that Haven would recognize it on spot, but small things had changed, positions and objects all together that it wouldn't be a place she claimed as belonging to her, but certainly the brain's best attempt at replication.

But there was a light on, in the kitchen, and it was a bit cloudy out that day, so it was very noticeable. She could see it, Haven could, a shadow move in there and something fell, maybe, before there she was, staring over at her. Her mother.

Mirajane seemed hesitant at first, as if unsure, but then she was coming forward to hug the girl. Haven didn't return it, but she didn't shove her off either. Just stood there. Allowing it.

He laughed, in the doorway, Ajax did, as he asked his aunt, "You didn't think it was her at first, did you?"

But the woman didn't answer and Locke elbowed him and, well, Ajax was still glad she was there, Haven was, but clearly he'd used up all his good fortune on that. Everything else that day was going to treat him like shit.

"Has something happened?" Her mother let her go eventually, but only moved to hold onto the blonde's shoulder as they stared at one another. "Haven? Are you-"

"I'm," she insisted, "fine."

"Then it doesn't matter." Mirajane moved to hug her again. "Why you're here. I'm just glad you are. For awhile?" But she couldn't answer as Mira was shaking her head again. "That doesn't matter either. Oh, we'll have to have a dinner. For you and everyone. When your aunt and uncles all get back, they're all gone right now, I think, but tonight you can eat here, at home. I… I need to go to the market, to get something, but we'll have something, just me, you, your sister, and father."

Ajax wanted to protest, that he wanted to come too, but he also didn't want another elbow to the side.

"Unless," Mira said then as her eyes drifted to the doorway, at the two guys. "Were you...here for something else? Haven? Or do you think-"

"I'll eat dinner. Here. If you want."

"But will you really?" Mira asked and she recalled then, Haven did, the last time she promised this. Looking off, she shrugged a bit as she said, "I do need to shower and stuff. If I can. Here. I-"

"This is your home, Haven." And Mira let her go then so that they could stare right at one another. "Of course you can."

Mirajane left, to go to the market, while Ajax was sent to the guildhall, to get his other cousin and uncle. Locke stayed though, behind, and instead of heading off to shower, Haven took him with her out to her own backyard, where they sat on the porch together.

"Please tell me," she asked in jest after they both just sat there for a minute or two, reacquainting themselves with one another once more, "that you don't still live at home. Do you? Locke?"

"No," he griped with a frown. "We were just training. I have an apartment."

"At the dorms?"

"A real apartment." He looked down at her, but she seemed more focused on taking in her childhood backyard once more. "Alone. Not all of us can just bum around the country, falling in and out of trouble."

She hummed at the slight instead of raising to the bait. Instead, she asked, "Where does Navi live?"

"Still at home, technically."

"Technically?"

"She's always gone now," he said with a shrug. "She went away, to finish up on her writings. Then she got published, a few bits of the story, in that magazine for awhile and she stayed away, to try and get the actual novel published. It's a lot of talking to important people or something, I guess. She's got it published now. Helps, I guess, when the Queen is backing you. It'll come out soon."

"Will you read it?"

"I dunno. I guess I have to. She's our friend." He frowned down at her. "Will you?"

"I don't read."

"Explains a lot."

"At least I won't have to lie and pretend I like it."

"I read the parts in the magazines. Navi's okay at it. Writing." He grinned himself, out at the backyard. "I can't believe that you're back." Then his grin fell some. "For now."

Instead of correcting or confirming, she asked instead, "You're not gonna ask me about it?'

"About what?"

"Any of it. What I've been doing, where I've been. You got all you needed from some dumb letters?"

"Well, some of us do read."

"Locke-"

"I just wanna sit. Haven. For a bit. If you're not gonna, like, disappear on me overnight or something, then we'll have a bunch of time to talk. Won't we? So let's just...not. Right now. 'cause then we'll fight or argue or-"

"Why would we do that?"

"Because I know that you couldn't have behaved yourself as well as your letters make it seem like."

"I'm here," she defended simply. Because that alone was a feat. "Locke. Everything that I've done, before right now, I stand by."

"See?" He even shook his head. "I can tell by the way you're talking you must've done something fucked."

"I didn't break into any palaces. If it helps you sleep at night."

"Hardly."

Though she told him it was fine, Locke said he'd feel awkward, being at dinner that night, and instead said his goodbyes with another hug and a promise that he'd be back around, later that night,.

"We can hang out," he told her with a bit of a shrug. "But right now, I need to go wash off and stuff. We can hang out later though, if you want."

"There's actually something I want you to do for me. Tonight."

He nodded easily. "Anything."

She wouldn't tell him then though, about what it was, and he felt weird, walking away. He kept glancing back at the house, almost feeling like if he got too far away, she'd be gone again. She wouldn't be there, when he returned for her. He did have good reason to fear. The last time he'd been promised she'd remain and left the house with thoughts of it, he went a year without seeing her.

But Haven had no intentions of leaving. In fact, with him gone, she took her time, going back inside. Looking at the house. She didn't go into her parent's room, but did glance inside Marin's, finding it to have changed the most. She could see boxes peeking out, from beneath the bed that was once hers (now she imagined it was mostly Kai's), which housed all of the things she'd left behind.

The bathroom was the same though and as Haven showered, she took her time. It had been a bit since she had a shower, a real shower, rather than just bathing in a gross river or dealing with a cold one in a shitty hotel. She used her mother's shampoo in there, the scent the same as it always was, and she didn't wanna leave again. Then. For a moment.

And yet…

Singing and the smell of searing meat could both be heard and smelt when she finally climbed out of the shower and Haven took her time as she dressed, digging through her bag for something that wasn't completely filthy, and knew, at the very least, she needed to do some laundry while she was home.

Or, you know, have it done for her.

If she was really home.

From her bag she also pulled the chain with the lightning bolt pendant, clicking the cool metal over her neck. In the mirror, she still looked a mess, but a cleaner one and, well, it's not like anyone liked her for her beauty anyways.

When she opened the bathroom door, it was to find him there. She knew it would be. She could sense him, after all. Laxus. Just standing there, arms folded over his chest, a heavy gaze in his eyes.

"Creepy much, Laxus?" she said simply, glaring right back up at him. "Kind of gross too. Should I be worried about leaving Marin in this house with you? Or-"

"What are you doing here, Haven?" was all he asked in return.

"I thought it was you that said I could always come-"

"If you've brought trouble with you, to my hall-"

"I haven't brought anything with me."

Still, he only glared. "Your sister, boyfriend, and friends have all gotten on very well, this past year. Don't just come around to fuck shit up for them."

"I'm fine," she called after him as he turned, warnings finished, to head on back down the hall, "by the way. Laxus. Just so you know."

And she wasn't sure why, but it really irked her that out of everyone, he seemed to care the least.

Her mother and sister were both home, cooking in the kitchen, and Mirajane only made her sit down.

"Lisanna wants to see you, tonight, after dinner, if you'll just go up to the bar, please?" her mother asked as she got her daughter something to drink. Something not alcohol. Haven tried hard not to look displeased. "And Elfman already saw you, I think, but he said he wants to see you too, again, and-"

"I'll see everyone," Haven told her simply and Laxus, who was getting a beer from the fridge, only snorted. "I'm not going anywhere yet."

Dinner came around soon enough and the kitchen table, which seemed to not be used much anymore, had to be cleaned off, but eventually it was just the four of them around it again, once more, like it had been for so long, but also very long ago.

"Let's see," Mira began as she claimed her own seat. "The last time you wrote, Haven, you'd just left some of your friends in, where was it? Povac? You said you'd write when you got somewhere else, but I don't-"

"I finished what I was doing and decided to come home," was all the girl would say. "Nothing happened. Nothing interesting. I just-"

"Then tell us something interesting," her mother insisted, glancing from her husband to her youngest daughter. "We all want to hear. Really. You went treasure hunting, were on a boat for a bit, and then duking it out in Povac. There has to be a lot missing from that though, right? Tell us something about it. Any of it."

But when Haven seemed hesitant, Laxus let out a loud grunt from around his beer can.

"Let her be, demon," he grumbled simply. When Haven's eyes fell to him though, he refused to return the stare. "Shit happened here too. Plenty of shit. I don't wanna hear her fucking brag about doing shit all with her life over my damn dinner. Someone else talk. Or everyone shut the fuck up."

Mira deflated some before, stabbing at the vegetables on her plate, she merely said, "So vulgar and hateful for someone whose daughter just returned."

But Haven didn't bark back at him and Laxus only sipped at his beer as Marin slowly started to tell them, instead, about the situation with the toilets up at the hall and sometimes, it wasn't what someone said or did. It was what they didn't.

* * *

**The end is nigh, but we can have some fun before it all crashes down, right? I have something of a plan for this (obviously; outlines and all), but I'm not gonna say it's definitely gonna be 10 and an epilogue, but yeah, it'll probably be 10 and an epilogue. Thanks if you've stayed with it this far. I know not many people have, but let's finish it out together. **


	2. Chapter 2

"I have," Haven remarked as she opened the door to reveal Locke, "to go to the stupid guildhall."

He didn't even care that her attitude was already souring. Grinning just from the sight of her being there, where she'd said she would be, he nodded easily.

"We can go wherever you want."

But Mirajane made him come in first, to eat some of the leftovers and, well, he hadn't wanted to intrude before, but it would be rude to just let that all go to waste. He greeted his Master, but the man just glared at him from where he sat at the table, having another beer and looking no more friendly now that Haven was home than he had the past three years she'd been gone.

"It's almost," his wife whispered to him, softly, once Haven and Locke left and Marin disappeared off into another part of the house, "like old times."

"What do you mean?" he grumbled because she was staring at him so heavily. "Mira?"

"It's like Locke picked Haven up for a date."

He groaned, just from the thought. Those weren't old times. Those were the worst times. Or at least the times leading up to the worst. He could still remember it, the first time that he figured out that Locke and his daughter were… And it wasn't even that Haven was dating that made him so angry.

Although, yeah, that part did confuse him a bit, given that she'd never really seemed too interested in that sort of thing.

Mostly, he was annoyed to find that Locke, who at one time seemed to be the voice of reason in his daughter's head, now would have that title stripped from him. He had to. Because a best friend will only follow you so far, but a man would follow a woman to the ends of the world. And look; he let them date for a year and what happened? Locke just let Haven run off and turn into...whatever she was now.

Something different. Something Laxus didn't know. Someone he didn't know.

Which was admittedly his fault. He knew. Haven had kind of allowed her mother and sister back into her life, the past year or so, and he could be included in that. He could write her a letter when she was holed up somewhere for awhile. Or just add on to one Mira sent. Something. But he didn't. Because she never sent him something specific. Never made mention of what he was doing or how. It felt extremely childish, when laid out like that, but the relationship he'd had with Haven had been childish for the majority of her life. Only now, on top of their stupid tests of pride, they were also separated by what might as well be the entire world.

This is what he'd wanted. For her to go off and grow and change. It was for the best. And granted, she seemed to be better for it, like he'd wanted, but…

She just didn't feel like his daughter anymore.

Mirajane seemed to be perfectly happy with the new Haven, more so, even than she was before the girl left. It wasn't like the mother and daughter had ever been extremely close. But now Haven was the prodigal child and Mirajane had no problem with peppering her with all the attention she'd withheld, her entire life, as punishment for presumably acting out for more of it.

Pathetic. That's what Laxus saw it as. Mira had spent forever telling Laxus that he needed to be tougher on Haven. That he had to do something reign her in. Before she hurt herself. Before she hurt someone else. So what did he do? Fixed the problem. Solved it. Some may say he was heavy handed, but he felt like most everyone would agree that it was long over due.

Haven was reckless, selfish, and sacrificial towards her guild mates. Teammates. Peers she'd literally had since she was in diapers. He had to do something. He had done something. The right something. The thing that had been a long time coming.

It wasn't like it was easy for him. At all. No way. It hadn't been. To send his underage daughter away was the hardest thing he'd ever fucking done. Fuck anyone who thought otherwise. But these were the things that a Master had to do, to protect his guild. A father had to do, to protect his own.

His wife saw this. He knew she did. Deep down, she had to. But still, he figured it was a maternal thing. She and Haven had never been close, not by a long shot, but Haven had come from her, both literally and figuratively, given that she was the one that forced him to agree on a kid in the first place. She'd lost a piece of herself and that was never easy to get over.

They'd been together, now, for over two decades. Laxus was kind of glad, really, Haven wasn't around for him to watch age, doing the easy math to realize from it just how long he'd and the demon had been together. Married. How old he was getting. How old she was. And it would only continue. Time would. Forever.

This past year or so, since Crocus, had been different than the first Haven was gone. Mirajane seemed content with letters and, honestly, Laxus was glad for them too. He might not be participating in the penpal exchange, but he now could ease up on asking around about her. Touching in with friends close to where he thought she was. Her safety was now guaranteed and he could breathe a bit easier because of it.

Plus…

He and the demon weren't exactly 'in love' so much in those days, but she was still his wife. And her happiness meant something to him. Obviously, given when she was displeased, it was normally a detriment to him, but he also just craved her happiness as much as his own. He didn't have to want to jump her bones every damn second to still see her as his woman. To know that she was in a better place now, with Haven being gone, was very comforting to him.

But now the little shit was back and he couldn't figure out why.

If Haven had come home broken and hurt, he'd understand. If she came back boastful and shoving it in his face, that would be the daughter he knew. Even if she came in with the maturity of a grown woman who now saw the world for what it was, rather than what she wanted it to be, yes, he could accept that.

But she hadn't done any of that.

Haven had returned with an air of mystery to her, for unknown reasons and desires. He expected her to be gone in the morning just as much as he expected her to stay. There was no hint of needing to be home, for protection or something of that like, at all. She wasn't desperately throwing herself at Locke either (which, yeah, he was glad he didn't know about, if that was the case). She was just acting like she could just walk on right back into his home, his guildhall, like it was nothing.

And couldn't she?

Who was going to stop her?

No one that night as she and Locke walked along, a bit aimless at first, but eventually actually heading to the back of town, to the looming guildhall.

"You look so good," her aunt said as she hugged the blonde tightly. "Doesn't she, Elf?"

"Yep," he agreed with his sister as he stood by, no longer weepy, but rather just beaming. "You look like a man!"

"Yeah, well, I hope not," Haven retorted simply and Locke snickered.

She was glad to find Ajax wasn't around though, so she didn't have to go through a lot to ditch out on him. Kai was though, picking up the slack for Marin, and was pretty animated as he just came over to where Locke and Haven were trying to have a drink and sat down with a plate of food like he belonged.

"Boy," he remarked with a grin at them both. Haven only glared while Locke stared down into his empty mug and wished one of the other Dreyar women were around. At least they knew how to refill. Kai didn't take note of either of these looks, as he rarely was any good at picking up signals (or he might just flat out be ignoring them; no one could say for certain, not even Marin or Erza), and merely went on. "Really takes you back, huh? Me. You, Haven. You, Locke. The three of us."

"Sure, man, whatever," Locke muttered as Haven only continued to glare. Kai just whistled though as he stabbed at his meatloaf.

"I'm great, by the way," he told the blonde. "Really great, actually. Did Marin tell you that I'm seeing someone?"

"Seeing them do what?" she asked honestly and Locke snickered again.

"Like...how you see people. How anyone does." Kai was frowning then, feeling kind of teased. "Like...date. I have a boyfriend.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"We're catching up." He was perky again from the thought. "I guess I'm being rude. Marin and I have been branchin' out, recently. Talking to other people and stuff. Doin' new stuff. We went to a concert. Alone. Like a real one. Out of town."

"Wow," Haven remarked dryly and Locke's snickers were starting to hurt his throat.

"Well, I just meant… Marin and I have to talk to other people. If we're going to be friends with other people. It's how I met him. My boyfriend."

"I'm so glad," she assured him to the amusement of Locke, "that we're catching up."

"I am too!" He was quick to nod. "I should ask about you though, is what I was gettin' at. Erza thinks I talk too much. She's home all the time now that...well...so we spend even more time together. When I'm not working. I have to help out now, around the house. Ravan can cover most things, now that Erza's all...but I help too. She probably won't be too happy when I tell her about what happened to the pipes...but neither will Master...or Mrs. Master… But you're back and not being a bitch for once, so I guess we're all happy, huh?"

That time, her gaze was different.

"Watch it," was her only warning as Locke waved down Lisanna then, for a new beer.

Kai's grin had some unease to it then because yeah, he did know what he was saying. All the time. The act he was putting on.

"What about you?" he asked after Lisanna filled Locke's drink back to the brim and the older man started to toss it back. "Haven? What have you been doing? Marin told me that you broke up with the pirate."

"The pirate?"

"Isn't that what a treasure hunter is?"

He choked that time, instead of snickered and Haven glanced at Locke before frowning at Kai.

"I'm being really nice," she remarked, "because I'm that now. A nice person. But that's your second strike, Kai."

He looked back down at his meal and thought. Thought really hard.

"We can just talk about Locke. If you want," he finally offered because he mostly didn't think that Haven could still physically harm him, not in his own guild, one she wasn't even a part of anymore, but at the same time… "What he's been up to. Locke, tell her about-"

"Kai." He was the one to speak that time, the older guy. "Shut up."

Sighing softly, Kai just said, "I missed you guys, is all, I guess. Together. You're like...my older siblings too. And I just-"

"How do you have a boyfriend and a job and still cry all the time?" Haven groaned as he sniffled and Locke found his snicker once more. "God, Kai, grow up. Who cries at work?"

"I'm not crying." And he wasn't. Rubbing at his eyes, he shrugged some. "Just teary."

"Can I ask you something?" Locke set his mug back down, staring heavily across the table at the younger guy. "How do ya fuckin' flush a damn washrag down a damn drain anyways? Kai? I mean, come on. That's just-"

"You sound like your dad when you're drunk," Haven told him with a bit of a frown and he had been raising a hand, to get some more ale, but it fell slowly once more. "Is the hall usually this lame now?"

"I hardly ever come here," he muttered as Kai looked about.

"It's as lively as ever," he insisted. "You just gotta introduce yourself, Haven. To all the new members. Make amends with the others. And…Ravan will be back soon. That'll be cool. And maybe someone can get Navi and then we can all hang out again."

"We?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. The three of us, Navi, Ravan, and Marin. We used to have lots of fun."

Even Locke wasn't drunk enough to believe that.

"You'll be around, won't you?" Kai asked Haven then. "At least until Ravan gets back? It'll be really cool if you are. You could could come hang out at Erza's. She likes the company, I think, even though she gets really annoyed with me when I just hang around all day. I guess how your parents will be, now that you're back and homeless or whatever, here, now in Magnolia. I-"

"Strike three."

"Haven, no!"

And he tensed up, Kai did. Shut his eyes. Tightly. Expecting something. Anything. A crack of thunder, bolt of lighting. Searing pain, a black eye. Anything. But after a few seconds of nothing, he opened his eyes to find the blonde gone. Turning his neck, he saw her heading out the hall doors and Locke had rushed up to the bar, to close their tabs.

Oh.

Eyes falling back down to his plate, his shoulders slumped some.

Things had changed.

Clearly.

"Where are we going?" Locke asked after they stumbled around the city for a bit. She was walking in front of him, kicking a pebble in the wind, and he wasn't anywhere close to drunk, not really, but he felt really good. Great, even. Just from being there. With her. Again.

"You're the one that supposedly has an apartment."

"Oh." He blinked some before nodding. "Yeah. We could...yeah. Let's go."

Leading for once, it felt nice for the man because Haven wasn't talking and the sound of the city was all about them, hums of the evening greeting them just as brightly as the yellow moon in the sky. There was still some nerves between them, maybe, a gaucheness that came with distance, but as he keyed into his apartment, he was laughing, at nothing, and she was only shoving him out of the way, so she could look around.

"You could have cleaned. You knew I was coming."

"I did clean."

She kicked at a random shirt lying there, in the middle of the floor. Other than that, there wasn't much wrong with the place, really, but it was hard for her to say a kind word without some disparaging ones first. "And what's that smell?"

"You sure are being judgmental towards me owning my own place when you're, what was it that Kai said? Homeless?"

"Was he serious?" She didn't wait for a tour (there wasn't much to show) and only walked across the tiny room the door led into, which housed just a couch, and to the first door she got to. Tossing it open, she found the bathroom. "He's...seeing someone?"

"Did Marin not mention it? And you're being kind of rude, you know. I didn't even formally invite you in yet."

The invitation had been implied.

"Marin's letters are usually just about what boring thing is happening at the boring bar." The other door was a closet and the last one was the bedroom, shrouded in darkness. She didn't walk into it though. Only turned to find him standing there, by the couch, just watching her. "Do you know him?"

"His boyfriend?" Locke shrugged. "He's not a mage. Or part of the guild."

"So no."

"I keep busy."

"Too busy for your little brother?"

"Yeah, I dunno what the fuck he was getting on about, but-"

"I feel very sisterly towards him, actually. I treat him about the same, anyways, as Marin."

"So, like shit? Am I your brother then? Are we all?"

"Shut up, Locke."

"I can't imagine a little brother being any more annoying than he is, for the most part, I guess."

But Kai was hardly of interest to the two of them when he was in front of their faces. Absent now, neither cared too much to think of him. Especially not when they were alone, after a year apart, in his apartment.

"Is it fun having your own place?"

Haven asked this after they both kind of fell into the couch and the light was still on, overhead, but it didn't bother them much. They truly were just sitting there, beside one another, shoulders just barely touching.

"I mean, I guess. I've had it for awhile now. Not that big of a deal." He shrugged. "Beats what you're doing."

"How do you know?"

"How do I know that having a place to come back to, that's yours, that you pay for, with your own hard money, is better than backpacking aimlessly and broke across Fiore?"

"No one said I was aimless."

"What'd you get then? Haven? That made it all so worth it?"

She looked bemused, up at him, asking, "Why do you sound like you're trying to start a fight? Because I insulted your little apartment? Sorry. I'm just… I've been alone, a bit. Recently. And when I'm not, the people I'm around aren't like you guys. Locke. They're...rougher. So-"

"I'm not mad. And you're not really that rough at all. No more than normal." He let out a breath, glancing down at her. "You're still you, Haven. I wasn't trying to fight. Just… You never did it. Really lived as a mage. Self-sufficient. I know that you are, out on your own, doing whatever you do to survive, but it's different. I'm a real adult now. Isn't that silly to say? We always felt like we were grown. The whole time. But you should try it. Just once. Eventually. Join up somewhere, not here if you don't want, but just live the life. The real life. It's hard sometimes, really fucking hard, but damn if it's not rewarding too. It's great. I fuck around a lot, I guess, maybe too much, but it's just… This is what we were always working for, Haven. This is the life we always dreamed of."

She tried not to, but she did roll her eyes then and, catching it, she could see the man deflate some, his own eyes falling away. Reaching over though, she rested a hand on his arm.

"We just want different things," she offered. "This is fine. For you. But I like struggling."

"I struggle too. I-"

"It's different. In a guild. Especially one that your parents are in. No one here's ever going to really let you fail."

"Why would you want to?"

"It's the only way you can push yourself, Locke. I've gotten so much stronger, mentally, just from it. I've done shit that I never would have, back in Magnolia. That I never would have to, here. That no one would let me. Things that-"

"Right. The morally corrupt things you were skating over in your letters."

"I'm here," she insisted, just like she had, back on the porch. But this time that was the end of her proclamations, for the moment, and he could only nod.

"You are."

She asked for a glass of water eventually and as Locke rose to get one, she followed him into the tiny kitchen. As they stood there, he ventured finally, "I'm guessing water isn't what you wanted from me. Tonight."

After a shake of the head and setting the glass on the counter top, she said, "I got fucked up, on the last job. And I don't trust anyone else to do this for me."

He frowned because she was speaking in riddles, still, and what did that even mean? But he saw as purple tiles appeared around her face. Dissipating, they revealed her right eye wasn't as normal as it had appeared moments before.

"Haven, what the fuck?"

"My mother is, like, the best takeover mage ever. I've learned some transformation magic along the way."

"Yeah, because I'm really shocked over that. I'm talking about your fucking eye."

It was black. Not, like, a black eye. But rather, the white of the eye was dark and her blue irises looked murky. Blurred.

"It's some kind of spell. Magic. Whatever."

"Why didn't you get it looked at? Sooner? Fuck, Haven, you-"

"It's my eye," she retorted as if he were dumb. A lot of times, when it came to her, he felt as if he was. "I'm not going to let some idiot doctor I don't know look at it. Mess with it. I could never get it back if they screwed something up."

"You could never get it back by waiting so long!"

"But you're going to fix it, Locke. With some of your medic magic. Aren't you?" She was staring at him, so expectantly. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Is that why you came back? Just for me to- Anyone could have helped you."

"I don't trust anyone."

Oh.

He let out a slow breath, but smiled then, softly.

"I thought that you shouldn't trust anyone?"

"What?"

"You literally spent years telling me that. So-"

"Are you going to help me or not?"

Of course.

Locke hesitated, just for a moment, when he brought his hands up to her face, but when Haven didn't flinch or shove him away, he continued on. Grasping her face in both hands, he titled her head back some as he stared down into her eye.

"What happened?"

"A fucking asshole got me in the eye with a spell," she complained as he only continued to peer down at her. "I was on my way out anyways. But we got into a fight and… I don't know what kind of magic it is, but it hurts. A lot. I was afraid if I went somewhere else, to someone else, they might try to...take it from me. But you can save it, right, Locke? Can't you?"

But he didn't answer, still just staring down at it, gripping her face kind of awkwardly, honestly, but one of her hands just came up to grasp his wrist.

"Come lay down on the couch." When he released her, he took no time to rush away, towards his bedroom. "I think I know what to do."

Haven did as he asked, only glancing after the man. He turned on his bedroom light and left the door wide open, giving her a glimpse in there. A desk, tons of papers and notebooks intermingled with books and a bed, of course, but it was equally as covered with similar things.

"How do you sleep in all that?" she asked because his room before, back at his childhood home, had always been clutter free and tidy. Organized. As she stretched out on his couch, he only snorted from his bedroom.

"Don't you sleep in the woods most nights?"

"I'm not asking about me, I'm asking about you."

"One of the best parts of having your own place," he said simply as he finally returned, a specific journal in hand, "is keeping it how you want."

Among other things.

"I need you to keep your eye open," he said simply though he wasn't looking at her then, but rather a spell or something, in his little journal. "The whole time. It'll sting, but-"

"I got it, Locke."

"If this doesn't work, we can try something else, but-"

"Just do it already."

Her impatience was endearing to the man.

Always.

Haven stared up at his palms as he held then above her face, red magic circles appearing as he loudly proclaimed a few spells. It did sting. A lot. She felt her eyes water, but refused to close them and when it was done, when he dropped his hands, the double vision was gone and she was just staring up into his concerned face.

"The blackness is gone, but can you see okay? Oh, hey, how many fingers am I-"

"Shut up, Locke." She reached up though, to shove at his head and he grinned. "It still hurts a bit-"

"That'll fade. And if it doesn't..." He nodded over to where he'd tossed his journal. "Guess you'll have to stick around some. For awhile. Until I can completely clear you."

"You're my doctor now?"

"I mean, you trust me, so-"

"Do you have a mirror?" But she was moving without listening, towards the bathroom. "God, it looked so bad before. It was getting worse and worse."

"You should take better care of yourself, Haven." His jovial tone was lost as he came to stand in the doorway of the tiny bathroom, leaning up against the doorjamb while she leaned over his cluttered sink to marvel at her eye in the mirror that hung above it. "What if I couldn't have healed it? And I definitely didn't get a letter about someone beating the shit out of you. What exactly all did you leave out of your letters?"

"Too much to talk about tonight." But she was grinning at her own reflection then, apathetic to the guy's concern. "God, I fucking hate using transformation magic. It's so draining to use, over time. Just a little bit."

"I never knew you were so absorbed in your appearance anyways."

"I'm not." And she wasn't. "But it gets tiring, having to explain to everyone why your entire eye is decaying away in your face."

"You answer to people now too? Man, you are different."

"Shut up, Locke."

"There's usually a fee, you know," he went on instead. "Attached to doctor's visits. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure you're planning to stay the night-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Just saying. I am trying to pay for an apartment. My living."

"Have a lavish lifestyle, Locke?"

"I have appearances to keep up."

But Haven was moving to splash water over her face then, in the sink. To it, she said, "I mean, I guess I can entertain you for the night."

He remained silent. Just stared. That time, she made a face over at his eyes.

"With stories." She' grabbed a towel he had hanging, on the rack, to wipe at her face, but threw it at him then. "Idiot."

"I didn't say anything!"

But she was shoving passed him then. "You wanna know stuff, Locke? Then you're in luck. That magic must have been infiltrating my brain. Suddenly have a lot of stuff I wanna share."

"I can reverse it, if you think it was suppressing your ego. Might be worth losing an eye, for that."

"I could always just leave."

But she couldn't. Because she refused to go back to her parents or relatives and paying for a hotel in Magnolia would just be embarrassing. That time, when they fell into the couch, he took his jacket off first and he hardly noticed the way that her eyes fell immediately to his wrist where, unlike the last time, the necklace no longer laid.

"Did you lose it?"

"Lose what?" he asked as he stood before her with a frown. Then he glanced down, where she was looking, and shook his head. "No, I...I took it off."

"Oh."

"Well, you said-"

"I did say."

"And I was seeing someone, for awhile, and it was just awkward because… I don't know. It just was. And I shouldn't be talking about that, I guess, or should I have put it? In the letters? Fuck. I-"

"It's not that big of a deal."

"You're with people too. Or you have been. So-"

"I'm not mad at you."

But he felt weird then, as if she were calling him out, and only rushed off to his room, returning much quicker that time with the necklace.

"I still have it," he said as he finally did take his seat beside her. "See?"

"I believed you." But still, when he held it out, she took it. "It's like I told you in Crocus. I don't care what you do, Locke. At all. You shouldn't me. Life's...hard enough, without worrying about what someone's doing when you're not around them. When you are, you are. When you're not-"

"It's not like that for me though, Haven." And it wasn't. When she looked up at him, he refused to look back at her. "So just…shut up, okay? What were you gonna talk about?"

How her eye got all fucked. In full detail. Then her journey back to Magnolia. They touched, just a bit, on what she did immediately following being in Crocus and he could recall wanting to ask her to not, not right then, because then he had to hear about..._him_ and she was right, they were different, because for him, it didn't matter where she was or where she went; he'd never like the idea of her being with someone else. Whether he was around to fill the void or not. But it had been a long day and the night was dragging a bit. When she rested her head against his shoulder, still talking, he just tried to blink the sleep away to no avail.

"We had to give up a lot, to get the piece from them," she was yawning as she traced the lines in his palm. "They stole it for us because they knew we'd trade a lot, to get the complete set, since, you know, you fucked up me being able to do it, but we got it. Then we had to get across the boarder and...and…it was hard because the royal family had instructed crossings to be on the look out for...it and..."

When her hand fell still, into his, Locke was too tired to grin, but he did close his around hers and it was a much better way to end the night, together, than they'd had the last time.

"Haven," Laxus was complaining about then, as he sat up, concerned, while his wife seemed more at peace than she'd been in a long time, curled up on her side of the bed, mostly asleep, truthfully, "didn't come back."

"Haven is back, dragon."

But he only shook his head. "She probably left again."

"She's with Locke."

"How do you know?"

Mira sighed in contentment and he only crossed his arms tighter, annoyed with this.

"I just do," she insisted and he grumbled into the night regardless.

The next morning, Haven awoke alone, in the living room, but Locke was just in the shower and when he came out, she was still there and he was just glad. He felt like she was too. Happy. Pleased. Whatever.

"You can't just use the hall as you want. Like you're a member. Because you're not a member, Haven."

"Laxus, shush," his wife ordered when they found their daughter up at the bar, with Locke, when they came in that morning. Marin was behind it, idly waiting for the breakfast rush to begin, and Mira hadn't felt that whole. In a long time. To see both her daughters there, in Fairy Tail, once more. "Go to your office if you're going to be annoying."

"She's my guest, Master," Locke offered around his food as Haven only glared after the man. "Aren't we allowed those? Whatever she does wrong will be on me."

It had been that way for a long time, anyways.

"When were you gonna tell me, Marin?" Haven asked eventually, when her father was sulking in the office and her mother was going around, doing last minute checks on everything in the bar. "That you and Kai are, what was it, Locke?"

"Branching out."

"Branching out," the blonde agreed. "What are you getting personable for? Have to find new friends now that your only one has someone else?"

"W-Well-"

"Where is Kai, anyways?" Haven kept up and frowned some, as if fearful he'd appear at any moment. "Isn't he normally here in the mornings?"

"Not anymore," her sister told her. "He has to help out Erza, in the morning, and gets here closer to noon. Then he stays until-"

"Does it bother you?" Haven couldn't help herself. As Locke kept giving her looks, she just continued on. "That he's with someone now? And you're still super alone? Or-"

"W-Well, I'm not alone, really, I-"

"Then you're dating someone too? Marin. Why do you send letters about what stupid part of the bar is getting repaired instead-"

"I'm not."

"Then you are alone."

"W-Well-"

"Do the three of you hang out a lot?" She wasn't going to let up. Shoving the rest of her plate over to the grateful Locke, she stared straight at her sister, into her soul, almost, it felt like. "You, Kai, and- What's his name anyways?"

"Lance."

"That's a dumb name."

"W-Well-"

"So do you, Marin, hang out all the time with Kai and Lance? Just paling around with them? Third wheel?"

"I guess, maybe, kind of. But I work a lot and I wouldn't wanna impose and-"

"So he stole your best friend. Right out from under you."

"No. But..."

"But?"

"Haven," Locke complained some, elbowing her. "What are you doing?"

Getting back at Kai. Not to mention, she was curious. At least a bit.

"I don't think Lance likes me."

Marin said this while Haven was preparing to slug Locke, in the arm, for thinking he could just elbow her for no reason (well, some reason). But she was glad she didn't because she was able to catch what her sister said.

"What?" But Haven had heard. Perfectly. "Marin, are you serious?"

"You shouldn't have said anything," Locke sighed, but it was too late.

"How do you know?" the blonde insisted. "Huh?"

"He just...he told Kai that...and Kai told me...and… He's actually really good at it. Talking to people. Kai is. But I like it here, more, at the bar, and I'm glad he has someone else to hang out with, I guess, but… I know he gets annoyed with me sometimes, about it, but I just like working. Here. And-"

"You and your gay boyfriend are in a crumbling straight relationship. Wow. Who could have seen this coming?" Haven sighed, finished it seemed, as she stood up from the bar stool. "We all grow apart eventually, I guess."

"Haven, that's not-"

"Have you at least been training, Marin?" She sounded more serious then. "Or just worrying about boys?'

"I think you're the one worried about them, actually," Locke pointed out. "For her. Seeing as you brought it up."

"I have." And her sister's voice didn't wavier that time, Marin's did, at she stared Haven in right in the eyes. "And I'm improving."

"Good." Haven paid that morning, for both she and Locke, dropping some extra jewels on the bar for her sister. "I'm glad."

She and Locke didn't hang around for much longer, which is why they missed it, later in the afternoon, when the Thunder Legion arrived back at the guildhall. They were arguing a bit, Evergreen and Bickslow were, but they were always arguing just a bit. Mirajane rushing right over to inform them of her daughter's arrival, however, put an end to that.

"Oh great," Evergreen complained though she did find her eyes searching around for the girl. "Whatever did we do to deserve this blight?"

"The kid's back?" Bickslow pumped a fist into the air, much like his son had, the second he saw his cousin. "Alright! That's great! Where is she? Where-"

"Stop," Freed sighed as he only excused himself, rushing off to Laxus' office to confer with the man, "yelling."

But the seith couldn't help it.

Neither could his son, still, all those hours later, when he arrived at the hall to see his father there, finally, which his aunt told him meant they could have a big party that night. Just them. Family. So he had to go find Haven and tell her that.

This wasn't as easy as it seemed, but Ajax had the twins with him and they vowed to search the entire city.

"I'm sure she won't be that hard to find," Mira offered the boys, but everything they did had to be done the hard way.

Or else it wasn't a very fun game.

And everything was a game.

She wasn't anywhere too complex though. They were over at the Redfox home, where Locke had gone to cancel plans with his father, but somehow the pair found themselves sitting around the kitchen table with his mother, going over minor things Haven had been going through since being gone. Levy seemed much more receptive towards Haven than Gajeel, but that had been true since they were children.

Still, the slayer filtered about, grumbling this or that and it was pretty obvious he was at least somewhat interested as well.

"What did you come back for?" Levy asked eventually though and Haven only glanced at Locke before shrugging.

"I had to take care of something." Then she just glanced down at the table. "And now that it's done, nothing, I guess."

"Well," the older woman offered with a bit of a sigh, "it's good to come back sometimes. To remind you why you left. Or make you realize why you want stay."

Locke didn't care for the implication of both options being present, but Haven only nodded and his father was grumbling again, so they took their leave then. IT worked out, anyways, as they were hardly far from his house when Lucky, one of the twins, came running at them from the opposite direction with his hands out.

"Stop!" he yelled and the adults obliged, thankfully. Skidding to one in front of them as well, he panted some as he said, "If I get you back to the hall first, then I-"

"-win. I win. I found you." Ajax was calling from behind them then. "Haven!"

"Don't, 'jax, I don't-"

He couldn't help it. He rushed right over and tackled her to the ground again. Or at least tried to. Haven was ready for him this time and shoved him to the ground instead. Didn't matter. He only snickered up at her with wide eyes.

"Dad and Aunt Ever and Freed are all back," he laughed as Locke helped him back to his feet. "We're gonna have dinner, tonight, Aunt Mira said. At your house. So make sure you come, okay?"

"Fine." She even nodded some. "I'll be around."

The boys had to argue then, over who exactly had found Ajax's oldest cousin, as well as then find Iggy, who somehow wound up a bit lost in the city. Haven and Locke just continued on.

"We're going to be bored of one another," he remarked eventually, "if we spend the whole day together."

He was mostly scared that was the plan. But at the same time, if they were together the whole time, that meant that she didn't have a chance to think about it, right? Leaving? Because he was distracting her with other things and yeah, they couldn't do that for the rest of forever, but if it was just for a few days then…

Then what?

He hadn't actually considered it before. If he wanted Haven to stay or not. It felt like the obvious answer was yeah, of course he did, but at the same time…that past year…

Haven would always be his best friend. He didn't think that distance changed that in the slightest. No matter what it was. He could not see her in five years and the second his eyes fell on her, five years and a day, he'd immediately feel that exact same connection, that rush, he'd gotten his entire childhood. You couldn't take away all they'd gone through together. He wasn't who he was if Haven wasn't who she was.

But…

That didn't necessarily equal a relationship. Which is what he felt like he was kind of gunning for, what was being hinted at. He didn't think he could do it, sit around Magnolia, watching her be with someone else, but he'd suffered the past year knowing this was the case, with her out there in the world, distant other than sparse letters, and he stomached that okay. He handled that alright.

Getting back with her though, for an indefinite, unstable amount of time until she vanished again, for another year, if not more…he felt like that would make him just as sick as her being with someone else.

"We can't battle if you're not going to focus."

He knew that, as they stood out in the woods, like they had, for so many years.

It was a familiar feeling though, going at it with Haven. Really going at it. He could tell she was holding back and so was he, but he figured this was for different reasons. She'd never given him a conclusion, to her fabled magic and power that the guy she was fucking around in Crocus had, that she wanted. But it was more than just that too.

Neither wanted to seriously hurt the other.

Not that day, at least.

Just test one another a bit.

Plus, she couldn't go to her families looking all cut up and gross.

"Tell them about your eye," he remarked as they walked back to his place, after, to shower off. "You'll never look bad again, someone knows how you looked then."

"You exaggerate."

"You were seriously going to let your eye rot out of your head rather than just have someone look at it."

"It's still here, isn't it?"

He glanced down at her, as they walked along, just to see her glaring up at him. Nodding, he could only agree.

Locke tried to not go that night, over to the Dreyar house, but Haven was insist as he walked her there that yes, not only was he invited, but she had to have him there.

"I seriously will cut and run," she said with a shrug as they walked along together, like they had the whole day, and man, it was already feeling like habit again. "If I have to be around them all alone."

"They just love you, Haven."

But did they?

Yes.

The Dreyar house had always been small, felt small, but it was cozier that night as Mira had splurged a bit (to the disgruntlement of her husband) on alcohol and food. It was just them, the family, but she knew them all well enough to know this was necessary. Kai was there too, because Haven figured he was meant to be family as well, but she could already see the splinters that were either there before her arrival or present because of her conversation with her sister that morning present and, yeah, Haven did take something of pride out of it.

Marin was always an innocent causality in all of her older sister's wars.

They sat mostly alone, Kai and Marin did. Neither drank much, ever, but especially not in her parents house, so they just sat out on the back porch step for most of the night, like Haven and Locke had done the night before, but different.

Kai could tell Marin was being weird, but things had been that way, recently, just a bit. Add on Haven's arrival and he knew his friend was just feeling mixed emotions on that fact. Obviously.

The prior year had been one of growth, for both of them, and the current one was as well. Erza got hurt and then everything just felt...different, for Kai. And Marin had awoken something, inside of herself, during the tournament. The dragon slept no longer and the lacrima was exacting its price every single day.

They weren't kids anymore. They'd always felt as if they were, the younger ones, the little ones, compared to their siblings and friends, but that was taken by Ajax and the twins now, truly, and they were adults, really. Kai truly. How could you expect to stay the same after all they'd been through?

"Kid, ya haven't changed a bit," Bickslow insisted to Haven, more than once, and she seemed to be playing nice, from what Laxus could observe, but he still wasn't so sure about her intentions.

"Maybe," Freed whispered, softly, to the man at one point, "she truly did just miss us all. Or even just someone in particular. Parts of us."

The slayer had serious doubts.

Locke had a tight feeling in his chest though, the whole night. He liked the Dreyars and their extended family. They were his guild mates as well as the adults that had been huge staples in his life. He came from such a small family that it was almost like they bled into the extension for him. He didn't have aunts or uncles or cousins, but he had Haven's family. And he felt far more brotherly towards Marin than he ever did towards Kai.

"Haven," Laxus grumbled to him though, at some point, that night, when they somehow found themselves alone in the kitchen, "is staying here tonight."

And how could he refuse a direct order from his Master?

It helped though that every got drunk and a bit wild that night. Locke didn't go home either. He and Haven fell asleep out on the back porch, where they escaped to, when Marin and Kai were finished with doing so, but not on the steps. Rather, they sat on the cold stone, backs against the old house, tossing back their last drinks for the night as they listened to her mother try and settle a huge argument between Evergreen and Elfman inside.

He wished they'd taken longer, Locke did. The Thunder Legion. To get home. So she would stay longer. To wait for them. Like she'd promised her mother. With her eye all healed up and that out of the way now, he had a sinking feeling that Haven might try and leave again and he didn't want that.

He couldn't have that.

"Will you take it off again?" she asked softly as the night felt still around them though the voices in the house behind them were only getting more agitated. He glanced down at where she was looking. His wrist, of course, where he'd wrapped the necklace once more. "IF I leave?"

"I dunno," he mumbled around his empty drink and Haven just sighed, not pleased with his indecision. She never was.

"Am I cleared yet?"

"Huh?"

"My eye." And that time, she was pointing to it as he was blinking then, dumb as always, down at her. "Is it all healed up? Are you gonna okay me?"

But as he leaned down, his hair brush against her forehead, he only shook his head when she naturally shut the eye, when he blew on it.

"Nope."

"Locke-"

"We can always try again tomorrow."

"You're a shit doctor."

"But the only one you trust."

"Tomorrow, I expect a better prognosis."

"Prog," he repeated softly, as if testing his ability to say it, "nos...nose… Yeah. That."

"You sound like your dad," she told him again with a frown as her head fell to his shoulder finally, "when you're drunk."

"Tomorrow," he said in reply, clearly with that one.

There was a nugget of an idea then, forming in his head, that if he could just keep not clearing her, as her favored medical professional, then Haven couldn't leave, like she was a boxer or something, and he could just keep making her forfeit. It was a great thing to dream, anyways, as he drifted off, out there in the cold.

Erza was awakened around that time, to the sound of the front door softly opening and closing, and she'd have thought it were Kai, returning from the Dreyar's late, but no, she knew it wasn't. She could sense him so well now. The magic. It was overpowering.

"Ravan," she called out softly as he tried to creep passed her bedroom door to no avail. Wincing some, she sat up in bed. "Come here. Please."

He did as asked, he always would, for her, and as he stood there, in the doorway to her bedroom, she only studied him in the shadows.

"Your job went well?" At his silent nod, she gave one of her own. "Good. I worried when it seemed to take you a bit, but completion is all that matters. You can tell me about it in the morning, the real morning. Your brother is out tonight, so I imagine it will just be the two of us."

He nodded again, turning to leave, but before he did, she added to her words.

"Your friend," the swordswoman told him slowly, "has returned. Haven. For unknown reasons. I would suggest you see her, before she disappears again. If you wish."

He paused some, in the doorway, before softly whispering, "Thanks, Erza."

"Thank you," she offered back as she gently laid back down as he shut the door behind him. "Ravan."

A night of peace and calm for Haven and Locke, however, was not similar to what he found as he fell into his brother's bottom bunk, rather than climb up to his own, as his own thoughts swallowed him in the darkness.

Haven was back.

As he pulled of his bandanna, he could only grin.

What perfect timing.


	3. Chapter 3

Ravan awoke to Kai's beside alarm clock going off, which was really annoying at first, because the asshole wasn't turning it off. Then Ravan remembered Kai wasn't around and that was why. Slamming his fist against the clock, he shoved up in bed, nearly bonking his head on the bunk above it, while running a hand over his face.

Haven was back.

But there were more important things to deal with first.

"Erza," he griped some when he found her in the kitchen, getting breakfast ready. "I was gonna get up and do that. And where's Kai?"

"Always with the Dreyars," she said from over at the stove, but with no malice. "Besides, I am not helpless. The two of you seem to never wish for me to be well again."

No. They did.

They desperately did.

He'd been away on a job of his own when Erza came back injured from her own. In passing on the way home, he heard about it. How Titania Erza had gotten pretty beaten up and was brought back near death to Magnolia. He didn't believe it. At all. Because Erza was...Erza. And Erza didn't have anyone stronger than her in the entire world. Even if she did, then she'd surely faced worse. She had to have. Death. A few cuts, bruises, abrasions, those had nothing on the swordswoman. She'd be healed up, he was sure, by the time he arrived home. Already off on a job.

Bet.

But he arrived back to Magnolia to find the woman in terrible condition and it all just happened so fast. He couldn't recall all of it well, didn't retain it, but he could remember when she finally came home and told he and his brother that perhaps it was time that they looked for other living arrangements.

"I will be unable to keep the three of us afloat for very long," the swordswoman said simply from the spot on the couch Ravan had helped her to, once they arrived back at the house. "It is for the better if we plan now. I spoke with Mirajane and the dormitory-"

"What are you talking about?" Kai, who was already upset the whole past two weeks the woman had been in the hospital, was no better the day she arrived home. "You're kicking us out?"

"No." She shook her head with a sigh. "I am taking care of you by sending you away. I will not...be able to...support myself, for much longer. Much less the three of us. You both are young and have your own stable forms of income. It is time for you to move on with your lives. Be men. Adults. You will be fine, Kai. Your brother will help you figure it out. And I am still here. Home. I just...must consider all of the-"

"We're not going anywhere, Erza." Ravan could recall pulling his bandanna down completely as he stood before the woman. "This is our home too. And your our… You didn't leave me, when I was sick, from my lacrima. Why would I leave you now?"

"Ravan, I am telling you-"

"We'll take care of it. The bills and things." He looked to his brother who with teary eyes still managed to nod his head. "The groceries, the house….you. We'll do it."

"I will not allow you to." And she meant it. Staring up at him with heavy eyes, she said, "You two are to go and speak with Mirajane. Immediately. Either that or set up some other living arrangements outside of the guild. That is an order. I will be fine. I-"

"No offense, Erza," he informed her gently, "but you're not exactly in the position to order anyone around."

"We're a family," Kai added as he rubbed at his eyes. "Aren't we? You took care of us when you didn't even know who we were. Now it's our turn."

She still did banish them from the room though, the woman did, but Ravan was pretty sure it was because she just didn't want to shed tears in front of them.

But the boys were serious. Men. Whatever. Ravan made more than enough to be self-sufficient and Kai started taking as many hours as he could be given, up at the hall, in order to contribute as well. It wasn't as if Erza was without savings, anyways. They would survive. The three of them. Together.

Which is what they were in the middle of doing when Haven arrived to town. Surviving. The tense, sad days were gone though and they were all more accepting of their fate. Erza was pretty messed up and still, months out, wasn't doing too hot. Kai was always in Magnolia anyways, so he mostly took care of stuff on the home front while Ravan still took his jobs, now just with intentions other than to blow the jewels on parts for his motorcycle and packs of smokes. Neither of the brothers could gripe too much. Nor did they wish to. Erza had spent years taking care of them, helping them.

They'd been back to Shadesbay, a year prior. They knew what their lives would have been like, had they stayed. She'd given them a new life. One she helped usher in. The idea that they wouldn't return the favor, care for her at her lowest, was unconscionable.

"You're in good hands, I suppose," Jellal had offered simply when he arrived, not too long after she was allowed to return home. "Have no need of me."

"I rarely," she sighed as they hugged in greeting while Ravan and Kai stood by, "do."

He'd clearly rushed to her, upon hearing the news, but there was little the man could do for the woman other than be a burden by hanging about. He would leave, just as quickly as he came, as always. Still, the night before he did, Ravan did overhear them speaking softly in her bedroom.

"Your boys will take care of you just fine," the man had sighed.

"You do not train a dog to leave you in your dying hours."

No. You don't.

That day was no different as Ravan only had Erza claim a seat at the kitchen table, so he could finish breakfast preparations for her. He griped some, about how if he hadn't come home, then Kai would have just left her alone, but the woman waved him off.

"Your brother is allowed fun, Ravan. And I am fine. Am I not?"

"All Kai has is fun."

Still, when he sat down at the table, he only told the woman all about his job as she nodded in places, critiquing in others. Eventually though, when he finished with all that, the woman found herself with something to tell.

"She came by, you know."

"Who?"

"Your friend. Haven."

He blinked some, down at his plate, before asking, "For me?"

"No. For me."

"For you?"

"It's what she says, anyways." And Erza sounded somewhat annoyed then. "People think that I will never regain my strength. But I will. Soon. I will be back on jobs and-"

"What did she want from you?"

"Nothing." She still sounded rather bitter about it though. "Just to see if I needed anything, so she claimed." Then, letting out a long breath, the swordswoman deflated a bit. "Though I suppose she could be an entirely different person now. I imagine she is. Not that I knew her well to begin with. I should not think ill of someone who merely wishes to offer-"

"I think I'm going somewhere. Erza. For awhile."

She did not like being interrupted, but still only asked, "On another job?"

But he was silent on that as he stood to collect their plates. She only watched him with a heavy gaze in silence, at first, before finding her words.

"Whatever you plan to do," she offered simply, "take caution. I know you feel invisible these days, because of your lacrima, but that is not the case. Ravan. Anyone can find themselves in an unwinnable position. Do not make me regret not having that lacrima ripped out of you."

Morning was more awkward at the Dreyar household as Laxus growled at everyone who wasn't his wife and youngest daughter because they were all drunks and he was the only one allowed to be that in his damn home. Locke and Haven bailed rather easily, through yawns and gripes of just how bright the sun was as it rose to take it's place in the light sky.

Still, they were both kind of laughing too and it was just nice, to wake up together, again, and Locke was going to ask if she wanted to come back to his place, to finish sleeping off the night before, and she'd probably say yes, and yeah, they were spending way too much time together and it was going to end poorly, he knew, because of that, but he couldn't help it.

When their stumbling around on the street somehow led them right to the one Ravan was walking down though, headed for the guildhall, Locke just stopped. Right there on the sidewalk. Because he did not want to be around the other guy. He could only watch though as Haven continued right on because she definitely did.

"You're back," she greeted with a grin at him, as if this shouldn't be said in the reverse. "Ravan."

It was kind of awkward, as they stood there, because the last time they saw one another hadn't been too pleasant and he didn't get letters. Like Locke. Her family. Because he wasn't that to Haven. He was just a childhood friend.

"We," he said instead of offering a greeting back, "need to talk." Then he glanced passed her, to where Locke loomed in the distance, glaring all the way over. To Haven, Ravan added, "Alone."

"About what?" she asked with a frown, but he just walked around her, bandanna wrapped around the bottom half of his face, and she had only seen it before, the scarring that was left there, once, in the pale light of the night, but had been curious ever since to see it in full. "Just walk off then, I guess, ass."

He was. Passed Locke to. To the guildhall. With the knowledge that it would be long before her curiosity got the better of her.

This was almost immediate, even. As Ravan disappeared, Haven reclaimed her spot with Locke only to tell him he should go home, he didn't look well, and he could meet her back after he rested some more.

"Aren't you tired?" he asked with a frown because he knew, he fucking knew, she was leaving him to go spend time with Ravan. But after having her full attention for as long as he had the past few days, he just couldn't force himself to be too upset about this. "Haven?"

"I'll be by later. You can make me lunch."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why do you do all the things you do for me, Locke?"

He often wondered himself.

Well, he kind of knew.

Haven found that her sister had escaped the house, as well as Kai, to start their duties around the hall. They were both standing with Ravan though, when she entered, clearly excited to see the man. But at the sight of her, Marin rushed away and Kai frowned, glancing between the blonde and his brother, before backing off as well.

"What do you wanna talk about?" she asked, but he only nodded, away, towards the back, and she couldn't sense her father around (she really didn't want to have to deal with the man that morning), so she followed, all the way down to the book room. It wasn't exactly a pleasant place for her though. The book room was, after all, where Mira seemed to like to send the kids when they were little for infractions.

And Haven built up a lot of infractions.

Gesturing to one of the tables, Ravan walked on, over to a certain bookcase. As she took a seat, he pulled a hefty tome down, beginning to flick through it before he even made it over to the woman.

"What is it?" she asked, frowning. "Ravan?"

"Do you know how Erza got hurt?"

"I heard it was on a job. What-"

"That's right." He set the worn book down then, sliding it across the table to lay before the woman whose eyes only traced the words written there. Claiming the seat across from her, Ravan went on. "She was hired to save some people who left on a quest of their own. But not a sanctioned quest. The fabled monster hunt. The Monster Gauntlet. Have you heard of it?" When she shook her head, he nodded. "Neither had I. Nor her. But I researched it, after what happened, because… I had to know. She saved those people, those idiots, who stared something they couldn't finish, but it was just too much for Erza. It-"

"What is all this?" she asked as she turned a page with a frown. "Ravan-"

"Do you know what a gauntlet is?"

"Like...a wrist band thing? Or-"

"It's a challenge. A continuous challenge." He tapped at the page she was on then. "The Monster Gauntlet is an open challenge that you can only access through a course of spells and procedures. Once you begin, you're faced with the task of defeating five magical beasts, each worse than the last. And at the end, if your successful, you're supposed to be gifted a prize. Some kind of power. The kind only someone who defeats all of the monsters can possess. If you complete the gauntlet, you have to be strong already, but to have some sort of power bestowed on you after all that-"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why do you think?"

But she just frowned making him glare.

"You never got it, did you?" he asked then. "What you wanted from that guy? His power or whatever? In Crocus?"

"Shut up."

"You can have this then, Haven. This power. You can get stronger with this. Could you imagine? There's only been two people rumored to have completed this. Former Wizard Saints."

"Then why the hell would we even mess with it?" She pushed the tome away from her that time with a glare of her own. "Are you crazy? Erza nearly died from whatever it was, out there. And you want me-"

"Not you." He huffed some, from behind his bandanna. "Me and you. Together."

"Ravan-"

"I don't want the power, if that's what you're worried about." He gaze softened some and he looked away. "That's yours. You can have it. I'm stronger than I'll ever need to be." Taking in a breath, he said, "Erza isn't...herself anymore. Even before all this. She's old. They're all old here. Now. It's time for us to move on. For this dumb guild to move on. I'm ready to prove that I'm stronger than the fucking Salamander or Satan Soul. Not by beating old, ancient mothers and fathers either. Fuck them. I'm going to do something that Erza couldn't do. That none of them could do. We are. Together. I've waited for you to come back, because I knew you would come back, and now here you are. It's fate, Haven. That I was able to find out about this, that Erza happened upon it, that you're here, now, still seeking it, right? To get stronger? When will you ever have a more clean cut chance at that?"

For a long moment, she only sat there, staring at him. Then, slowly, she snorted.

"I don't even get a, 'Hey, Haven, how are?' or a, "Are you okay? What's it like on the road?'" She looked away from him. "You're as bad as fucking Laxus. We don't see one another for a whole year and you-"

"Would you be serious?"

"Would you?" She even seemed offended. "You've lost your mind, Ravan. Erza can't beat something, but me and you can? Because...she's old now? You and Locke both need to stop drinking. Seriously."

"I'm better than Erza because of this!" And he ripped it then, from before his mouth, the red garment. And Haven got to see all the scarred tissue and discoloration. "I wasn't strong before, Haven, fine, but I'm stronger than anyone now. I can feel it. I've never been able to go full out, but now-"

"You are insane."

"Haven-"

"I didn't come back for this….shit. To get drug into more guild shit. I-"

"This isn't guild shit. This is real shit. Do you want to be more powerful or not?"

"Why do you care?"

He'd risen, just slightly, from his chair, but sat back down then, shaking his head as he took in a breath. Leveling it all out once more, he said simply, "I waited for you, Haven, because you're the only person I trust enough to do this. To go on this with. Do you think Erza would have gotten so bodied if she took me? If she took Natsu? Anyone? With her? No. She would have been fine. It takes the power of two strong mages to complete this. The Wizard Saints that did this, that people say did this? They did it together. Me and you-"

"This is just a lot, okay?" And her voice wasn't so tense then either. "I just… I want to be stronger. Yes. Fine. That's part of it. But this is…suicide."

"You don't," he complained as he pulled it back up then, the bandanna, hiding from her view once more his disfigurement, "believe in my power."

"I don't know your power. I hardly even know you anymore. And you don't know me."

"Whose fault is that, Haven?"

But she just shook her head. "I need to think about this, Ravan. It's a lot. Just...give me a few-"

"If you're not going to go with me, I'll go alone."

"Ravan-"

"I don't need you."

"You just said-"

"I was inviting you to be kind. As a favor. Because I knew you were into it. Power. Strength. Magic." He stood. "This lacrima has given me more strength than you can dream, Haven. You feel it, don't you? You all do. You all shit on me for so many years and now-"

"I'm not saying no. I'm just saying I need time to-"

"I'm leaving tonight. Last train out." And he walked away, back out of the book room. "Meet me where we used to before jobs. If you're not there, then you get left."

Upstairs, he found the Master was there. Just walking in. Not wanting to deal with him (at all), Ravan was quick to find Kai and tell him he'd be gone for a few days and to look after Erza.

"Seriously, Ravan?" he complained. "You just got home! And Haven's here. Don't you guys all wanna hang out? I bet if we got in contact with her, Navi would come back and then all of us-"

"The past belongs in the past, Kai." And he knocked his brother in the head, making the younger of the two frown. "I'll send back some more jewels if I can. If you guys need them. But for right now, it's all on you for a bit. Alright?"

"Where are you going? And for how long?" He wasn't as dumb as he played, Kai wasn't, and could tell something was clearly going on. "Why did Haven come back? And what did the two of you go talk about?"

"Take care," was all his brother ordered as he walked away, leaving him there, where he was sweeping in the pool area, "of Erza."

Haven came up not soon after, but her eyes didn't fall to the departing Ravan. Rather, she noted her father take up what she assumed was his new typical table, Freed quickly joining him. Then she saw her sister, behind the bar, and Kinana was on duty that day as well, yawning through the morning shift.

A lot of other people were around, of course, ones she both knew and didn't know, but Haven had to wonder if ever, at any point, while she was gone, there was not a single soul that knew her or of her in the hall. Or was there always at least one?

"You're not a member," Laxus grumbled as she passed his table. "So stop sniffing around here. You hear me? Haven?"

But she was leaving anyways and wouldn't raise to his bait. That's what it felt like he was doing. Always doing. She hadn't really done anything to him, spoken to him much, since arriving home, but he seemed insistent on causing an argument. Provoking her. But Laxus didn't realize he was so far from her mind in those days, now that she was out of from under his thumb, that she really didn't care what the man did or said. What he felt. He was just an annoyance now, rather than an oppressor. Not someone to be crushed, but avoided.

"Haven! Where were you this morning?"

Ajax jumped on her, again, the second she walked out of the hall.

"Everyone woke up and you were gone," he said as he just hung off the woman, arm around her shoulders, and he was nearly as tall as her. He'd be far more, she figured, soon enough. By the time he finished growing, at least. "Are you going somewhere? Or doing something? You should come with me! We could go to the park and I can show you what I've been working on! I've improved a lot. And you can show me how much you've improved. A bunch, right? You're way stronger, even, then you were in Crocus, huh? And you were super strong then. I bet-"

"Don't you," she groaned as he was letting her go then, to run ahead, knowing she'd follow, "have anyone else to bother? Jack?"

Not a single soul.

She'd always been weak for him though. Ajax. She didn't feel that way about many people, but he just did something to her. It was hard to remember days before he was toddling around the bar or the house, her being forced at times to watch or babysit him. Marin had the misfortune of being young at the same time Haven was, while their cousin had the blessing of distance. He was a toddler, really, when Haven entered adolescence, leaving him low on her attack radar and high on her protect one.

He'd gotten to watch his cousin grow in her magic. Some of his earlier memories was sitting out in his aunt and uncle's backyard, watching the man and his oldest daughter train for hours. Sunrise to sunset. Hanging on every victorious or bitter word, he'd wait around for stories of her jobs and they meant just as much to him, maybe even more, than those of his parents or other relatives. Because they were all old. But Haven, she was hardly older than him, he felt, even if she didn't. And though he heard of their power when they were young, his family, he was literally seeing it in his cousin. Her strength. Her magic. Her resolve. And if he could be just half of what she was, then he'd be happy.

But not satisfied.

Not until Haven declared him just as grand and powerful as she deemed herself!

They trained and showed off, the cousins did, in the park for a good while. Eventually though, his stomach was growling and she sent him off alone, to the hall, to get that taken care of.

"Aren't you gonna come?" he griped, but she only shook her head and told him she had somewhere else to be.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

He nodded with a grin at her words and he felt it. Really, he did. Finally, he'd done it. Gotten strong enough. And she'd seen. Now that she was knew he was so powerful, so strong, Haven would never go away again!

Right?

She went back home first, Haven did. Her mother was there, home alone, and seemed shocked to see her, but excited all the same. It was still weird to the blonde, the way Mirajane was so happy and thrilled at every little thing she did. She couldn't recall a time her mother wasn't only sighing at her and sending her off to speak with her father on all her transgressions.

"I can't stay. I just came to shower and get my stuff," Haven told her with a bit of a shrug. When her mother's eyes widened, she was quick to add, "I'm going back over to Locke's."

"O-Oh." It was a long breath that her mother let out then, but a thankful one. "Well, I do have to get ready for work soon, anyways. Relieve your sister. So I guess we couldn't have lunch together. But maybe tomorrow? Just the two of us?"

"I dunno." Haven didn't like it, the feeling in the pit of her stomach. Pity? Was that it? Gross. "Ravan's back around now too and between him and Locke-"

"Maybe another day," Mira was quick to offer and she was smiling, but Haven could tell she hurt her mother's feelings by denying her.

"Maybe," she whispered without confirmation because, honestly, after the past two dinners, she'd felt like she'd given the woman plenty.

She showered quickly that time and left while her mother was still in her bedroom, getting ready for work. Haven didn't even call out to her. She didn't want to have to go through another conversation.

"Were you still sleeping, lazy?"

At least not with Mira.

"No," Locke complained through a yawn as he rubbed at his eyes. "I wasn't."

He was though, before her loud knocks awoke him, and she only shoved her way into the apartment as he yawned some more, allowing this easily.

"So are you going to make me something to eat or not?"

"What do you want?" he griped, just a bit, as he followed her into the kitchen. But Haven just rolled her eyes before opening up his fridge to scan what he had.

"Go back to bed, if you want," she ordered as he easily turned to at the very least go fall into the couch. "I'll make us something."

He didn't have a lot of food in there though and Locke was fine with it, anyways, fried ham and eggs. It helped wake him up a bit, anyways.

"Is my eye healed yet?" she asked as they sat beside one another, on the couch, plates in their laps. "Locke?"

He didn't even glance at it this time. "Nope."

"You're such an ass." But she kept on staring at him, as if willing his eyes towards hers. When she was rewarded with this, she said, "You're too fucking quiet now. You know that?"

"You're the one with all your secrets."

"I'm tired of telling them," she countered. "It's not like you just sit around here all day, do you? Why don't you ever talk about all you've done? While I've been away?"

Because he was nearly certain she didn't care, outside of finding material to ridicule him with. Maybe his apartment was really that boring though…

Locke talked about his most recent job, just for a bit, but that didn't seem what Haven was getting at. When she pressed him, he kind of shrugged a bit.

"I mean, yeah, I have friends. Other than Navi and you. I always have."

"But what do you guys do?"

"Do you not have friends, Haven?" he asked, mocking, just a bit, for once. "You really don't know what to do with them?"

"I've made more friends across Fiore than you could ever dream of."

Associates, at least.

"There's a lot to do," he finally conceded, "around here. There's a lot of bars and parties and-"

"So you have fun."

"I mean, yeah, I guess." Then he frowned. "You're not going to make me do it, Haven."

"Do what?"

"Convince you that my life is so much better when you're not around."

"I mean, it kind of is, isn't it?"

"How do you figure?"

But she felt like it was pretty obvious.

At her silence, he snorted some before saying, "It was different. We're not kids anymore. And you're not… You were just hard to get along with. Back then. You said it yourself, you have people now, that you can get along with. You've learned to get along with people. Because you had to. Here? In Fairy Tail? Or even just Magnolia? You could do it easily. You're not angry anymore, are you? That was just teenage shit. Angst and shit. You don't have to bite the head off everyone you see. You don't. I saw you. In Crocus. You-"

"That's different."

"But it doesn't have to be." He made a face. "You act like you're some horrible person, Haven. That just shouldn't be bothered with. That we should all just be glad that you're gone and that's that. But it's not. I'm never going to be glad that you're gone. If you're happier there, out there, without us, fine. I can be happy for you. But I'll never be happy about it. You belong here. You went out there, to find yourself or whatever dumb thing you wanted, and now you have it. Don't you?"

Looking at her plate, she sighed some as she said, "I couldn't get it. From him."

"From who?"

But she only shrugged some. "They weren't bad guys. I know you and Ravan thought so, but that's just because you didn't know them. They're like me. They wanted the same things as me. But… Do you know that Laxus is keeping some sort of treasure secret? In the hall? Something big. That's what he told me. And if I wanted to pay back my debt, really pay it back…"

"Haven, why did you really come back?"

"For my eye." And she was insistent on that. "I told him to fuck off. When he told me to break into the guild. To get back into Fairy Tail and… There's a code to treasure hunting, for one thing, and he was crossing a line. And for two… That's a really shitty thing to do. To ask someone to do. To steal from their own family. To destroy their own family. I would never ask someone… But I couldn't owe them something. And I'd passed on two huge things then. So… It was just all falling apart. They saved my ass, in Bosco, and I was really messed up from it. I'd have done anything to get out of there. He wasn't using me. He saved me. And I owed him. But… You can't ask people to do that. Locke. To hurt their family. That should be in a code too. A rule. Shouldn't it?"

"Haven," he asked, softly, as she refused to look at him then, "what happened in Bosco?"

"It's fucking terrible there. You shouldn't go. I shouldn't have gone. But… No one does anything to stop it, Locke. What happens there. No one. It's really fucked. Fiore does a lot of shitty things, fine, all of the Kingdoms do, but if they just banned together, they could stop it. We could help people. A lot of people. But we don't. No one does."

"Why did you go?"

"I was going to get paid, a lot, to help with some electrical work in one of the towns there. I do that a lot, around Fiore. Charge up lacrimas and stuff. It's easy money. A lot of people are afraid of electricity. They don't understand it. And those who do cost a fortune." She shrugged some. "I was offered by a contact here to accompany him to a place in Bosco. To do work there. And I knew, yeah, about the whole slave trade there. But I didn't think ti would… I don't like it. To see people hurt people that are beneath them. I know, ha ha, I spent my whole life picking on the rest of you, but that's different. WE're all different. They've taken complete advantage of the weak. And are they really weak? No. They're just not given a chance to get strong. That's fucked. The regulations are super relaxed too and if you just have a falling out with the wrong person… I did. 'cause I thought that I could do something. To help someone. To help everyone. But it's not that way, Locke. Outside of Magnolia. All their stories, our parents and their friends, make it seem like if you just love people enough, if you just spread the goodness around enough, that the whole world can be fixed. But it can't. You can't love that away. You can't wish it away. Nothing that I can do will ever make the slave trade in Bosco nonexistent. Or even worse things, in other places. You can get as strong as you want, but you're always going to be powerless. It's never going to be enough. Nothing is ever enough."

He was moving to drop his plate then, just straight down on the ground, so that he could reach for her, but Haven turned away from him, looking off with a shake of her head.

"I keep telling myself that if I could just get strong enough...if I could just be better than literally every other thing on the planet, then I could change things. But powerful people don't change things. They just make them better for themselves. No one saves anyone, Locke. Ever. We just all benefit ourselves. Did Laxus save the world because he cared about all the lowly people that couldn't? Or because he was a part of the world? Does anyone just do something that's completely detrimental to themselves? Even if I beat every single enemy I've ever had, anyone with any idea that was opposed to my own ideals, I still wouldn't be doing it for the right purpose. I'd still be a tyrant. Even if everything I did was right, I'd still be in the wrong. We all would. I just… Did I ever tell you that he wrong me a letter?"

His throat was tight, but Locke still felt the word falling from his mouth as he asked softly, "Who?"

"Laxus. Before I left." She was looking at him again, in the eyes. "He said a lot of dumb shit in it, but one of the things that he said was that he'd always know. When I was in trouble. When I needed him. If something happened, he'd be there. But he never came. To Bosco. No one did. I was alone."

"Haven, that's not fair." His mouth worked much easier then. "And you know it. We had no idea you were there. No one did. If he had-"

"That's the point though, Locke. No one ever knows. When someone needs them."

"You told me last time we spoke, in Crocus, that being alone was the point. That you wanted that. That you didn't want us to come save you. That-"

"I know that."

"Then why are you so angry that no one did? What are you even saying, Haven? That you can't just cast a spell that tells you when someone you love is in danger? When they're in trouble? Or that you can't be powerful enough to change the entire fucking world? To save the entire thing? From every little thing that might befall it? Fine, Haven, yeah, that is shit. But that's life. And I'm sorry. Even if I didn't know about it, I'm sorry that I wasn't in there, with you, in Bosco. That I didn't know. That I couldn't come save you. Or stop you from going. I really am. And Laxus would be too, if he knew. Whatever happened to you, you didn't deserve it. No one does." Locke swallowed then, aggravating his dry throat further, before saying, "If you can't do it, Haven, if it's impossible, then maybe it's not what you were meant to do in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"You keep saying that you can't get all the power you want," he insisted. "That you will never be as strong to do all the things you want. Then maybe you shouldn't keep chasing it. Something that you can't get. Just be glad that you realized it so soon and...and..."

"And what?"

"Stop. Chasing it. So relentlessly. If you know you can't get it then-"

"Just give up?"

"Just accept it. You'll always get stronger. I'm stronger, aren't I? Than the last time we saw one another? My magic is growing constantly and so is yours. Why do you need some sort of spell to help you with that? We left that lacrima, remember? Back in Incidio? Because you want to do this all on your own. You want to get strong on your own. With your magic. Not someone else's."

"You don't get it."

"You felt powerless in a situation and it sucked, yeah, but-"

"Shut up, Locke."

So he did. Staring down at where he plate sat, on the floor, he sighed some because he could feel it happening, he was pretty sure. If he didn't do something, she would leave again. Which...was that such a terrible thing?

Yeah. It was.

Because Haven was too hard headed to be on her own. That's all he learned, the more she was. She did dumb, risky things, but with no fail safe when he wasn't around. She needed him, whether she admitted it or not. Or at least someone that was willing to look out for her best interests. Because she clearly was and all her new 'friends' definitely weren't.

Plus…Locke wanted Haven to stay with him. A bigger part, of course, wanted Haven to want to stay with him, but he always just kind of thought if he could make the first happen, the second would eventually fall into place. He felt as if this opportunity was being dangled right over head, but somehow, was slipping out of his grasps.

Things settled out, in the apartment, and Haven wanted to look over some of his journals of spells. He was shocked by this, but she seemed to be trying to appease him, maybe, probably because she didn't want to leave on bad terms, he figured, and fuck, he had to do something.

But what could he do? Haven had opened up to him, just enough to realize she didn't like it, and closed right back off. She seemed mostly back to normal as they sat on his bed together, flipping through journals and books.

She asked around the concept of him actually hanging out with other people again and he didn't tease her this time, just talked some about them. His friends. That he had. Away from the guild. This had always alluded her and him by default, in their youth, but he seemed to be thriving just fine in those days.

"Do you even see Navi anymore?"

"I told you she's gone a lot."

"Yeah, but-"

"It's like you told Marin about Kai, I guess," he sighed, shrugging some. "You drift apart."

"At least she's happy, I guess," Haven sighed and she'd stretched out, on the bed, but he didn't make a big deal about it as her eyes drifted shut. Just kept going on and on about a spell in his notebook and when Haven fell asleep, he was kind of glad.

It took a lot of the pressure off.

He kind of picked up, a bit, around the place, and felt sort of anxious, really. Like he was stuck there. Indecisive. Eventually he tumbled back into bed, waking Haven by doing this, who only blinked sleepily at him as he stared down at her.

"You're such a creep."

"I checking your eye out."

"Sure."

That time when he blew at it, she shoved his head away making them both grin, just a bit, and he didn't understand why she didn't just want to stay like this. Forever.

Haven sent him out to get dinner that night, alone, and he griped some because leaving her alone in his apartment just spelled trouble, but she only snorted.

"Yeah, I really give a shit about your super secret spell breaking down. Ooh. Can't wait to go through everything."

"Considering you don't read," he offered as he left, "I guess I'm safe."

For the moment.

He saw him though. When he was out. Ravan. He was just walking around the city, didn't even notice the other guy. He was actually prepping, the swordsman was, for his upcoming trip, and filling his pack out with necessities. Never even saw Locke. But Locke saw him and felt it, in his chest.

Though he'd avoided asking Haven about it, he didn't like that the two of them had hung out (or whatever they did) that morning. He didn't like Ravan at all. In the year since he'd sicced the other guy on Haven, back in Crocus, they'd had even less interactions than the one prior. He felt bad, Locke did, about Erza, and had offered his assistance both to the woman, who seemed grateful, and to Ravan, who snorted in his face and told him to fuck off.

No love would ever be lost between the two of them.

When he got back to the apartment, Haven seemed kind of bored, just sitting around on his couch, flipping absently through some sort of book. She said something really snarky as she rose, probably about where he'd gotten takeout from, but Locke only dropped the bag to the floor as she approached him, moving to kiss her rather deeply. Haven pulled back, confused, but he just shook his head.

"I want you to stay."

"I'm not going any-"

"Haven." And he meant it then. "Stay. Here. In Magnolia. Please. Fuck getting stronger. We're stronger together. There's nothing that can hurt you, when we're together. Whatever has? It's only when we're apart. So let's not be that anymore. Your dad is over it. All of it. He wants you home. We all do. The guild's different now. We're grown now. He can just be the Master. That's all. Or there's other guilds. Here. Or even just other shit to do. Just stay. I don't care what you do. Just don't leave again. You could have gone to anyone to get your eye fixed, but you came here. To me. That means something. So just stay."

Slowly, she reached a hand out to rest over his chest, feeling his heart jump out of it, was she only stared into his red eyes. She had nothing to say for once, however, only nodded slightly, and Locke hadn't felt that good in a long damn time.

Locke drank some, with his dinner, but Haven didn't and they sat together, on the floor before the couch, rather than on it, and when the setting sun no longer offered any light, they didn't turn on any lights. Just stayed in the darkness.

Eventually, he moved to slowly unravel the chain from his wrist once more, handing it to the woman. As he watched in the darkness, she put it on once more, the stone lying over the lightning bolt pendant that hung there.

"You don't have to stay with me, you know," he whispered softly. "To be here. We don't have to be together, I just want you. Haven. Even if you're just my friend. My best friend. These past few years have just felt wrong. For all of us. You belong here. You can't find what you want out there because it's not there. You had to leave to see it, right? But you do now, right? Like your dad did?"

Instead of answering that, she said simply, "I wanna be with you though, Locke."

"I want that too." And he meant it. Even if he was only whispering it into the shadows. "That's the thing. We never really had some sort of...differences that we couldn't overcome or whatever. We didn't drift. We'd still be together, probably, if you hadn't… I'm not mad about it though. You know? You did what you needed to do and so have I, while you've been gone. But we're back together again. Like it was always meant to be. Don't you think?"

"You talk too much."

He blushed some, glancing down at his beer bottle, but still asked, "I thought I was too quiet?"

"You're a lot of things now."

"I just mean that… You can't be with only one person ever, really with one person, and know that they're the right person. But it's almost been three years since we were together and we've both grown so much, since then, and we still want this. Or at least I do. It's always been us, you know? Not like...I mean, I wasn't...when we were kids, you were just my friend, and you're still my friend, but now-"

"You can just shut up," she whispered, but no. He couldn't.

"Would it be weird?" he whispered back. "If you just...stayed here? Now? Is it weird for me to ask that? Because I'm sorry, I guess, if it is. You don't have to. I know you won't be able to stay with your parents for long though and you can't have a lot of savings, roughing it out in Fiore, but for awhile...or whatever, you can stay with me. We'll probably fight a lot."

"All the time."

"But...we always do. We always will. I'm not worried about it. I just always meant it. When I said it. I still do. I love you."

He laughed, down at his drink, but Haven didn't mimic it and they were both quiet for a bit until he got up to get another drink.

The day had felt short and the evening wasn't too deep into itself when they fell into bed. Locke tried to start something, but she only turned her head and told him to calm down. He was too happy she was there, really there, still, to be annoyed.

"I don't think it's weird, Locke," she agreed with him then, as she patted at his chest, and his drinks were going to his head, but he was pretty sure she knew what he was talking about. "It's not weird at all. You're my best friend too. You always have been."

"You don't have to chase it anymore, Haven. Power. You realized it before you were some old, bitter person closer to death of old age than actually getting some sort of stupid, prophesied spell or lacrima. Good. You don't need infinite power or strength or any of that. I won't ever let anything happen to you. Maybe that is selfish and we only save things, or protect them, for selfish reasons, but I don't care. My magic is mine. To take care of things I care about." He stared up into her eyes as she laid on her side, staring down into his. "We can't save everyone. But we can save one another. Protect one another. That's enough for me. Isn't it for you?'

She just laid her head there, on his chest, and it was too comfortable. Way too comfortable. She was staying, with him, and they were going to be together and he could finally move on. Really move on. Both of them. Together. How it was always meant to be.

Haven and Locke.

But she didn't find sleep as easily as him. Whether it was from the fact she had no alcohol to sate her or that same comfort that he seemed to find in all of this. It was weird. The things that Locke mentioned, that he wanted, for them to be together and her to come back home, yeah, Haven thought about those things sometimes. Weak times. Moments.

And maybe she did travel all the way there with something that someone else could treat, just to get to him, because she missed him.

But…

Maybe eventually. That would work. That would be enough. She'd realize the folly in it. Chasing power. Strength. Magic. But he hadn't seen the things she had. He didn't know what it was like to feel like no matter how strong you were, you were still going to lose. Haven did. She felt like that constantly. But instead of adding despair to her life, it made her strive harder to find it. Something. Anything. Anything that made her feel safe and protected and maybe it wasn't magic or power or strength that would bring this.

She wasn't lying. She didn't repeat it back to him, not that night, but she'd meant it the last time she had. She did love him. As much as she could someone else. But it just wasn't enough. Yet. She needed to get stronger.

If what he was saying was true, that she never could, that it was an endless chase, fine. Eventually she'd give in. If...if she could this time, she decided as she sat up in bed and glanced at the clock on his bedside, then she could give in. Then she would know.

Yeah.

If whatever waited for her, at the end of the Monster Gauntlet, if that didn't bring the closure, then she'd know it was fruitless. This was her clearest shot at true power. How stupid would it be not to take it?

Haven felt bad, truly, she did, and it wasn't an emotion she liked much. Still, she sat there and wrote a note out for him, taking paper from one of his many journals strewn about, as he rested contently beside her, none the wiser.

It felt like trickery again, but it wasn't. This time. Because she was just going to go with Ravan for, what? A few weeks? At most? And then be back. And when she was back, she'd either have enough power to bring her the same comfort Locke had in her or she'd abandon the search. She'd give up. Give in.

She'd stay then. With him. If he wanted her still. And they could figure something out from there.

But she had to try. Because Ravan was right. She felt his power and knew she needed something like it for herself.

As she stood over Locke's bed, she felt some hesitance, but still could only let the letter beside him. Reaching up, she touched the stone that hung there then, with the lightning pendant, and she didn't leave it. She couldn't take it off again. No. After only a few hours of it being back around her neck, it felt like it belonged again.

"I thought you weren't gonna show."

"Yeah, well, I did." Haven glared at Ravan, heavily as he only sat there on the curb of the street they'd always met up on, since they were kids, when there was a job. "So are we going or what?"

But he only continued to stare up at her, in the chill of the night, frowning, she could just tell, behind his bandanna.

"Why do you sound upset?"

But she wouldn't look at him, even as Ravan got to his feet, and he would just let her have it. The moment. To sulk and pout like she clearly wanted to. But something had built up in him, over the day, as he considered what he was going to do, if she didn't show. But look. There she was.

Like it was supposed to be.

"Haven't you ever wondered, Haven," he asked as they faced one another, the hour late and the street mostly empty, "why they always kept us apart?"

"What are you talking about?" She really didn't even give a shit. She wanted to get out of there. Before Locke awoke and found she was gone. Before she might actually get caught and face the consequences of her own actions. "Who?"

"Everyone." He sounded so sure of it. "Your dad and family and Erza and…Locke. They always all saw it. Even when we're young. We bring out the best in each other. Me and you. We're so strong together. Neither of us ever fucking quit. We'd go at it forever. None of them wanted us to be friends. To be on the same side. I think your dad always thought we'd ban together against him or some shit. We're so alike, it's why we couldn't always get along, but if we're fighting for the same thing… We're gonna beat the gauntlet, Haven. And then after that..."

He could only shake his head and she nodded, finding no words then either, and it wasn't betrayal to leave, she convinced herself, after promising to stay. Not if she was just moving the timeline a bit.

Right?

But he felt betrayed, Locke did, when he awoke in the night to find her gone and only a note left in her place. He could hardly read it and it was anger, that time, real anger. No sadness, self-pity, or anything.

Ravan.

That's the only thing that jumped out to him. She was going off on some quest with Ravan and just fuck Locke, right? Because he'd be there when she got back, right?

He wanted to rip it up, but only settled for crumpling it and getting up to go get another beer.

Fuck Haven.

Every damn time.

He felt no better after his early morning drinking though and looked pretty rough, honestly, when he walked into the bar the next day, seething and agitated as he only wanted to get a job and get the fuck out of there. Far away from there.

Why did he do that to himself? Why did he keep letting Haven do it to him? How could that be his best friend, someone that he cared about, that he loved, when all she ever did was consistently attempt to ruin his life? To get him to believe one thing and then do the other?

She claimed that there should be some code, to not ask others to harm their family, but it felt like it was the only thing she ever wanted to do.

"Where," Laxus griped as he passed his table, "Haven? She didn't come home last night and-"

"Gone." Locke didn't even stop to truly address the man. "She's run off with Ravan."

It was Laxus' turn to feel it then, rage and Mirajane, who was working that morning, overheard as she passed by. As she opened her mouth though, as if to bring up a defense or even a complaint, the slayer's dark eyes just forced any resistence down as she looked away.

"I," he said darkly as his wife only nodded, "warned you."

He had.


	4. Chapter 4

It was a rundown little building in the center of a town whose name Haven forgot the moment Ravan told it to her. They'd arrived by train to a few towns over and had to walk there and as the early morning faded to early evening, she felt so far removed from Locke and her family. Like she'd never gone back home in the first place.

Mind clearing, honestly. Ravan had shut the fuck up on the train ride, back to his usually sulky persona (which she found more comforting than his new hubris) and she'd dreaded her decision the entire way. Which Haven usually didn't do. At all. She liked to make a choice, follow it through, and if it failed, pretend like she was actually making the opposite decision and salvage what she could without sacrificing any of her humility. Or at least she did. The past two years out on the road made it a bit more difficult, honestly, to be so impulsive.

You had to apply some logic to your actions.

But it didn't really feel like being back on her own again. It felt like something different. Her and Ravan did take jobs together, without the others, at times. It was kind of like that. Taking the train out of Magnolia and off on a job. Her back itched as she thought of the marking that used to lay there and, when she glanced at her glaring out the window companion, she just sighed.

The more things change…

"We're closin' up," was the first thing said to the pair when they walked through the door of the rundown building. "If you're here to speak with-"

"We're not here for a dumb loan." Haven had noted the signage out front. Stepping forwards into the cramped quarters, she stared straight at the man who'd spoken. "We're here about the Monster Gauntlet."

The inside of the building was no nicer than the outside. A small room with a desk in the corner, a chair before it, and a squinty eyed man behind it. On the other side of the room sat a woman, not at a desk, but at a table with a typewriter, going over papers, it looked like. She was chewing gum, smacking it loudly, and in the silence that followed Haven's statement, she blew a big bubble, just to pop it.

No one appreciated dramatic affect as much as the oldest Dreyar daughter.

The man though, behind the desk, who'd been divvying up cash, it looked like, frowned at the pair of them before glancing at the door on the back wall. Haven imagined this was where the bulk of the building was, given how tiny the front room was.

"Where," he griped at them as his eyes fell back to the pair, "did you hear about that? You kids realize what you're talking about, yes? It's not a game. The Monster Gauntlet. Just a few months ago, we had some young people roll through here, asking about it too. You know what happened to them? Had to call in help, just to save them. How the fuck did people start even talking about this again? Hadn't had a person come in for over two years before that. Now, someone starts whispering here, someone else starts whispering there and-"

"We know," Haven kept up because, yeah, Ravan was all big and bad now, apparently, but she'd always be the commanding one (it was just in her nature, "what the gauntlet is."

"Oh, do you?" He snapped at her too, the man did, and as Haven only glared he huffed some, twice, before standing.

"Wait," was all he said then, "here."

And he disappearing into that back room.

Haven looked to Ravan first, who wouldn't return her gaze as he stared, instead, over at the woman at the table. The only sound in the room was the steady drumming of her finger tips against the keys as well as her loud smacking. It was more than enough to drag attention to her, but Haven could tell that wasn't what dragged the man's interest over there. Going on job with guys was always annoying.

She sighed loudly too, making Ravan glance at her, but it was more out of annoyance in his own right. The older woman at the table just popped another bubble though before speaking.

"Wizards, huh?" she asked with a bit of disinterest. This did nothing to Ravan's confidence, really, as it furthered it if anything, given how he puffed his chest out and gag. Haven didn't sigh that time though as she found herself more annoyed with the woman.

"Who else," Haven griped back at her, arms folding over her chest easily, "would be interested in the gauntlet?"

"Fools, only, mostly, regardless." Sighing some, she raised her deep brown eyes to study them both in turn. "Extra work for me, anyways."

Before either could ask her what she meant, the man returned from the back, some papers in his hand.

"Now," he began as he went back over to his desk, grabbing a pen while he was at it. "Names." When he only got stares, the man said, "This is not some sot of underground operation. We do not just send people out to their deaths. There are procedures. What exactly did you think you were coming here for?"

Haven truly wasn't sure. Ravan had been the one that told her to begin and get complete instructions, they had to visit the rundown building in the town with a worthless name. Still, she only took a step further in the tiny space, towards the desk.

"Haven," she said simply, "Dreyar."

"Dreyar. Is that with a- Dreyar." He glanced up then, with a frown. "You kid. Are you related to Makarov? Were related, I guess. For some time now. Quite a famous surname. Shame you choose to end yourself on such a quest."

Haven snorted some, but still said, "He's my great-grandfather."

"Yes, well, I suppose you can visit him soon enough."

"You're not," she complained that time, "scaring us."

And he glanced up, from his paperwork, with a frown. "I'm not trying. Ms. Dreyar. I don't even care, truly, anymore for this damn quest. It's not mine. I didn't start it. No one alive did. It's been passed through the city for generations. My grandfather was a mayor, once, and I took over for him, manning it, when I became of age. Right here in my little loan company. You get a little stipend, from the town, and no one ever comes by. But now that those others heard about it and have begun spreading their tale, I'll have many more, just like you and your friend here, venturing out to their deaths. Inevitable deaths. It's no matter to me. Mages and their silly desires escape me. I'm merely the messenger. Here to make sure you are of age, understand the risks, the rewards, the rules, and answer any questions. Never in my lifetime have I see someone complete this needless, senseless test of power and courage. But then, I'm sure, you'll tell me I've never seen the likes of you before? Hm?"

"It's with," Haven retorted simply, "an A."

"Of course it is." Looking to Ravan then, he nodded at him. "And yours?"

"Ravan." He looked off. "It's, uh, also got an A. At the end."

"Ravan what?"

"Just Ravan."

He took in a deep breath, the man did, and the woman popped her gum.

There was a request for ages and affiliation, to which both answered the former easily and only Ravan the latter.

"Fairy Tail," he said and the man only hummed before looking to Haven.

"I have none."

"You have no guild, no-"

"It's what I said."

"Alright," he sighed with a shake of his head. "I suppose it is now that I should inform you of the rules, yes? They're not many. It's quite simple. I'll supply you with a map. There are four coordinates on it. You are to go, in order, from one to another. Forests across Fiore. Deep in them, in a location hard to transverse for those not in the know, you will find an alter. You cast the spell I will provide you with and be faced with a beast, each more gruesome than the last. After beating one, you are to journey quickly to the next. There will be a time limit. If you do not make it in time, to your next location, your quest will be invalidated and you will have to begin again, from the start. Honestly though, barring any train trouble, this is no longer as huge of an issue as it once was. There are five monsters which you must slay in order to complete this challenge. Days travel will take place between each location, to get to the next, so be well aware just what you are walking into. Not only the danger, but also the length. If this all still agrees with you, then-"

"How," Haven cut him off, "do we get our prize?"

"Oh. Yes. The reward." He sighed some, nodding to the back. "In one of the safes, under tight lock and key, is your, uh, reward. Power beyond your wildest dreams. Does that make it worth it? Signing your lives away?"

"Wizards," the woman said around her gum smacking, over at the desk.

But the man was only getting back to his papers then. "Next of kin?" When he got quizzical stares, he griped at the pair once more. "If we're marching you off to your deaths, the least we can do is inform your loved ones of your...untimely demises."

"But how would you know?" Haven asked.

"It's a rudimentary system," he told her with a bit of a shrug. "We give it double the time the quest would take. If we hear no word, we inform whoever's name you leave here. Whether you are dead or not, I suppose, is up to you. A good way to start a new life, now that I think of it. Of course, most families in light of the news go and collect your bodies from where they have fallen. We provide them with locations, upon request-"

"And," the woman complained a bit, "threats."

"-but," he went on, "we will not collect. We are not a morgue. Most of the time...by the time the families get to the bodies… It's dense. The locations. Like I told you. Rough terrain. Animal, scavengers..."

"What about the beast?" Haven asked with a frown. "What happens to it? You just let it loose onto-"

"Once it fells those who were present at the time of summoning," the man explained, "the magic will dissipate and the summoning shall end. So long as you live, however, it will not allow you to escape. You live or you die. Of course, I suppose I have a weaker heart than most. I do supply a commutation lacrima, to those who are in need of one. Hole yourself up somewhere in the forest, send a request out to someone and, hopefully, someone will come and save you. It is what saved the people before you. If the pair of you are in need of one-"

"We have one," Haven told him.

"Uh-huh," he agreed with a bit of a nod. Then, once more, he requested, "Next of kin?"

Haven swallowed some, looking off, as if thinking. Then, eventually, she named her parents. The man glanced up at her, but merely nodded. When his eyes fell to Ravan, he took a moment out to think as well.

"Erza Scarlet."

"Now you two are surely kidding me."

"I'm not." Ravan tugged at his bandanna, but didn't pull it down. "She's my… We're related."

"Oh, sure, sure."

"It's true."

There were a few more questions before, finally, he gestured them both over.

"Some paper," he began as he held a loose leaf out to each of them, "and a pen. There. Now write your Last Will and Testament."

"Our what?" Haven asked.

"Well, not really." And he laughed, sort of, the strange little man did, amused with her then. "You should write a letter. Both of you. To your families. Just in case. It's another thing I like for people to do. If we don't hear from you, when we send word...we'll send this along as well. I've found through the decades most all challengers to be young. They're not the best at remember such things, before they set out. If something should happen to you, at the very least, you owe your families an explanation as to why it occurred." He sat back in his chair hen. "I feel at least. Do as you wish, of course."

Haven set her paper down, on the corner of the desk, bending over to just stare at the blank whiteness that seemed as void right back. She'd never really considered something like this and felt a bit foolish, really, because there was no way...that they would ever…

No.

Obviously not.

But still, if something did…

"You're not writing anything?" she asked Ravan who watched her fill up the page with a snort. Especially when she immediately folded it right up.

"No," he told her with a glare as the man moved to hand Haven an envelope.

"Put it in here, seal it, and write the name of who it goes to, if you want, even." He wasn't grinning any longer, the man wasn't, and both Haven and Ravan had to wonder how many of these he'd sent out to devastated families. It was more than a bit sobering. Neither were certain how much of this was all for show, hyping up the entire thing, but something told them very little. To Ravan then, the man merely said, "No words then? For the great Titania? I hear she's the one who- I understand now. It is a game. The two of you were sent, by those foolish young people before, to get back at me. For what? It was their own egos that led them to believe they truly could-"

"I told you," Ravan griped a bit and he reached up then, but for his collar, which he tugged down, just enough to flash the guild mark that laid there, "I'm a part of Fairy Tail. Erza's my mother."

Haven felt a bit awkward, hearing this from the guy himself, and only said softly, "You could die of a fucking brain aneurysm, Ravan, at any moment. Get run over by a train. Have a tree fall on you. Have some sort of dumb accident that has nothing to do with anything. We all could. No one's doubting you. Just write and tell them where you were, if you do. So I don't get blamed or something. Just to your brother and Erza. It's really not that big of a deal."

But it felt like it was.

To acknowledge a chance at failure used to not be something Haven would ever accept. The idea that she now wanted him to, was encouraging him to, felt off.

Still, with a groan, he bent down then to write a short, concise paragraph to his brother and the swordswoman.

"You can't start it with, 'I must've ate it, if you guys are getting this,' Ravan."

"I didn't read over your shoulder, Haven."

Ugh.

He felt like the whole thing was stupid though. Because there was no way that anyone would ever see this anyways, because he was going to come back, safe and sound, and that was just that. He felt no fear or anxiousness in that moment. He'd had this idea since Erza arrived back beaten up from the job. There was no hesitance within him.

They were supplied with a map and the spell, which the man wrote out on the back of the map, and then he shook both of their hands, staring deeply into Haven's eyes when he did so.

"I hope," he told her simply, "to see you again, to claim your prize, Ms. Dreyar."

It weirded the blonde out a bit, but when she looked to Ravan, he was only staring at the woman again, and ugh, it was best to start as soon as possible.

"I didn't think," she griped a bit to the man once they were outside, "that it would take this long. I thought, like, we'd go somewhere, learn a summoning spell, and summon them one after another. Not all this travel."

He just shrugged some. "We can get supplies in the first town, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not that. I mean, yeah, I need to stop off somewhere, but..."

He didn't press, but he never did. It was one of the things that she'd always liked about him. Ravan was fine with her expelling every single thought she ever had out on him, but was equally content with long stretches of silence. He didn't mind her rants or the silent treatment that usually followed them.

Ravan just liked her.

"I just," Haven finally decided on their short trek back to the train station, "didn't tell Locke I'd be gone. Is all. And I expected to be back pretty soon so that we could...move on."

Ravan had no insight to offer up on this though (it wasn't like she wanted any, really), and it kind of just hung between them as they marched off to what the man, back in that little loan shop who could finally get back to closing up while the woman typed up the paperwork for each of the mages that had just left, was their deaths.

"Never ends, does it?" the man complained to the woman who didn't respond. Just blew a bubble, it popping as he added, "Senseless."

Laxus would have felt the same, had he known what his daughter had run off to do. But short of Locke's phrasing it exactly like that and offering up no other explanation and Kai, who seemed intent that his brother and Haven had gone off on some adventure, there was nothing telling them where the pair had gone.

And it didn't matter.

Outside of Locke, who was heartbroken or something stupid like that again (Laxus was not, in the slightest way, interested), this was kind of how things were meant to go. Haven would stroll in to town and leave. That was it. Everyone knew that.

And Ravan wasn't on any sort of official guild business, so Laxus had no room to gripe there.

Overall, nothing horrible had taken place. Nothing to get upset about at all.

And yet he found himself unable to stop the anger from pouring out of him. Haven and Ravan together deeply troubled him. Yeah, Haven and Locke together, in a general sense, was bad in some ways, whatever in others, but his daughter hanging around with Ravan was a worse idea than ever. He used to sulk around like filled with teenage angst and all sorts of things that Laxus just didn't want his daughter getting caught up in (as a sulky ball of teenage angst, he knew how quickly teenage boys could turn that commiserating with girls into something more), but things had changed. Haven, yeah, was different, but so was Ravan. Even Laxus noticed. Since that strange lacrima incident that he still wasn't too clear on all that went down, the boy had turned into a man that walked around with arrogance and confidence and somehow, the sulky, angsty shit was more preferable.

The idea of Ravan realizing he could get more done actually fucking doing it instead of sitting around whining about his shortcomings mixing with Haven's inability to accept she had any shortcomings at all just made the slayer mad with wild assumptions.

Then, of course, there was the very fear that Haven and Ravan were…

Well…

He just never liked Ravan. He didn't like his persona, he didn't like his attitude (neither version of it), he didn't like fucking Kai which, yeah, was unrelated, but he just really fucking hated him too, and just overall, out of every other person in the entire world, he just wasn't someone he wanted his daughter with.

It didn't have to be any deeper than that.

But it was. Oh, it was. Even without Haven in the equation, he'd probably still hate Ravan. He probably would have never let him in his guild in the first place, were it not for Mira's insistence back in the day. The man had a heart, yes, but he could tell, he just knew, that the brothers didn't fit. Didn't belong. But did anyone listen to him? No.

And now look.

Well, there wasn't a lot to look at, considering nothing horrible had happened yet, but Laxus just knew it was coming.

Haven and Ravan.

Gross.

But this news and gossip was only interesting to a small number of people in the hall, which carried on much the same as always. Marin was glad for this. She knew the second her sister came into town that, inevitably, it would cause problems at home, but work was somewhere she could go where Haven's name hardly even came up anymore. A complete escape.

Fairy Tail was freeing to Marin. She'd spent so many of her younger years in it's hall, hating and dreading the boredom it brought and the reign of terror her sister had over it, but things were different now. As she drifted slowly into adulthood, she found the monotonous days comforting and the never-ending streams of patrons and their many desires to be a distraction. She worried so much, at home, about her parents, about where her sister was, about Kai and his constant dramas.

But when she was working, tending bar or moping up around the guild, she could just focus on the task at hand and think of nothing more.

"We're going out tonight."

"I can't," Marin sighed, hardly glancing up at Kai as she wiped down the bar. "I'm working."

"I didn't us. Me and you. I meant me and Lance." Still, he was all grins and he stood before the bar. "But I did mean that you could come with us."

"I just said-"

"We're gonna go out of town and-"

"I thought you had to take care of Erza?"

She did glance up then, quickly, just in time to catch his grin faltering.

"I mean, yeah, but I've already done that for the day. She's fine. She told me I could go."

"Well, I guess I could go over, later, and check on her since you're not going to be-"

"I just told you she's fine. And I thought you had work?" Kai followed as she started to walk away, around the bar. As he picked up a pitcher to begin refilling beers, he only trailed her. "What's wrong, Marin? You've been so- Oh. Are you worried about your sister? And my brother?"

He snickered then, Kai did, a lot.

"I'm not," he assured though Marin had given zero indication this was the case. "I'm actually kind of pumped up about it."

"About what? We don't even know what they're doing."

"Use your clues, Marin," he insisted though she was certain, without even hearing his yet, that the boy had done zero sound deduction on his own. "We know Haven came back, for no reason at all, to see everyone and spend a bunch of time with Locke. We know Ravan came back, for, like, a day. He gave Erza money, told me to take care of her, and after talking with your sister for a short while, he just up and leaves. With no warning. And your sister ditches out on poor Locke. It's so bad, all he told anyone before leaving on a job was that she ran off with Ravan. It's pretty obvious what they're doing together, Ravan and Haven."

"I don't feel like it is."

"They're getting hitched."

"To what?"

"To...each other, Marin. It's a saying."

She was rare to get short with him, but the last thing she wanted was him spreading that around. Especially in the bar where her father would no doubt catch wind of that. Considering Marin was ten thousand percent sure that was not what was going on, at all, she didn't even want to entertain the idea of it.

"Aren't you excited? Now you really will be my sister!"

"Kai, I'm working," she told him rather harshly and it did make him lose some of his jolliness, but not much.

"Yeah, you are," he agreed, still following close behind. They were approaching her father's table then and Marin just prayed he didn't say anything about her sister. She would have just bypassed the man all together, but her father had caught her eyes and was waving her over now and, well… Still, Kai carried on as he said, "But you shouldn't be tonight then, right? You worked all morning and afternoon. You should be able to get off and come with us. Right? Master?"

They were to the table then and Laxus had been prepared to question his daughter about where his lunch was. Kai, as always, was ruining Laxus' flow.

"What?" he griped and his tone alone made both teens suddenly wish they hadn't come over to the table.

"I's just sayin', is all, that Marin should be able to come out tonight. If she wanted. 'cause she works so much and all and I know that everyone works a lot, but-"

"Go out." Laxus didn't want to have to hear the boy talk anymore. Plus...yeah, it was kind of depressing to see his daughter work open to close at his bar. Felt kind of abusive. Less Fairy Tail, more fairy tale. "Marin. If you want. Someone else can cover for you. It's not that big of a-"

"Alright!" Kai bounced some as Marin only looked stricken. Such betrayal. From her own father. "I'll go tell him that you're coming. This is great. This-"

"Kai, I don't want to go."

Laxus really wished he'd just stayed in his damn office that day. But no. Mira said he did that too much these days and that he had to be approachable. Why the fuck did he still listen to that woman again?

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"I just… I want to work."

"But Marin-"

"I have stuff to do." Marin glared at him as they stood there, by her father, who really wished they'd buzz off already. "Can't you go bother someone else? You're so annoying."

Kai's face changed then and he took a step back from the table as Laxus just got very interested in his papers all of a sudden. Stomach clenching, Marin tensed up a bit, expecting something, anything, but her friend only turned and walked away and then she was alone.

"Shouldda done that years ago," her father cemented the moment because right, she wasn't alone. "He's obnoxious."

He was. He knew he was. But he couldn't help it. His entire personality was built off bothering others in attempts to elicit attention from them. Marin was the only one immune to this. Since they were little, she just always giggled and grinned at his antics and thought he was just misunderstood. That was all. Kai was nice and kind and, yes, he did ask a lot of pointless questions and yeah, he had a problem with yelling, but those were endearing.

And they were. Still. Then. To Marin. But…

She wanted to apologize then, Marin did, because she knew how he felt about it, when Erza or Ravan called him that. When they yelled about it. When they sent him away because he was just too much to deal with. She'd always been the only one to never do that and now…

But she didn't go after him. Because Kai had been annoying her recently. A lot. He kept trying to force issues that wouldn't really be a problem if he'd just shut up about them. She had no problem with working such long hours, but he was constantly complaining about it. She didn't mind that he had a boyfriend now. At all. It was really cute and nice and she liked that Kai was...maturing. If that's what he was doing. He was stumbling through it, like he did all things, but she was nearly certain he was doing that, at least.

And so was she.

Their focuses were just different. Neither felt like their siblings, with higher goals. They'd never had them. But Marin's focus shifted entirely to bar oriented things. She worried about replacing this or that. Was the menu in need of a change? Would it be more cost effective to switch suppliers for this or that? Was the current ranking system for jobs really accurate?

Kai though had one thing that drove him to work. Erza. He'd goofed off a lot, before she got ill, but when she did, he seemed pretty into working as hard as possible, earning every jewels. The woman was only getting better though. Soon enough, she wouldn't be in need of so much assistance and then…

"Who," Lance laughed once and Kai snickered and they were hanging out, at the park, just the three of them, and Marin had never felt out of place with her best friend, but she felt really intrusive then, "wants to stay in Magnolia forever?"

A lot of people, Marin would argue, because Magnolia was actually a great city when you weren't just being pessimistic. And she and Kai weren't pessimistic. At all. But normal kids were, as they were finding out, the more they tried to branch out. Her worst decision ever. It hadn't even really been her decision. Her mother was kind of prodding her to do more than just work all day and suggested she and Kai meet new people.

"You can't just have one friend, Marin," Evergreen added to this. "You need two. At least. A solid three, if you're lucky."

Marin had always thought that Haven was kind of the exception. That her anger and resentment and misplaced desire for something more was just….Haven being Haven. But this wasn't the case. The more time she spent around her peers, the more she found that most hated their surroundings, regardless of their surroundings, and everyone had all these dreams and ideas and desires and…

What was wrong with just working in your father's guildhall for the rest of forever? Huh? Why was that some sort of bad thing? Why did Marin have to want to be something? When she already felt like she was something? She was Marin Dreyar who, if she played her cards right, might just get to be head barmaid one day at the Fairy Tail guild.

Why was that a bad thing?

Why did she have to want to see the world or at least outside of her little town? Magnolia wasn't little, she reminded anyone who said otherwise and it was actually a lot better than most places.

But Marin's constant optimism was a real downer on others being real downers. Kai's joy was almost comedic; Marin's reserved insistence that they should all just look on the bright side was not.

Kai was branching out and Marin was finding that she kind of liked it, on the trunk, where you didn't have to worry about the elements.

Though their attitudes and outlooks were shocking to Marin, people's reactions to her rarely were. She knew that she wasn't exactly a people person, not like Kai, and that was fine. She didn't mind being dragged along by him and his new friends, really, she didn't, but sometimes…

It was starting to dawn on her, more and more (especially after Haven's insistence that this was the case), that she and Kai were drifting apart. It wasn't a bad thing! It didn't mean she didn't like hanging out with him. Because she did. But the things he wanted to do were starting to not be things she wanted to do and this hadn't been the case, in years past, but when all she wanted to do was hang around the bar and all he wanted was to be anywhere but, it was clear that they were going to have some adjusting to do.

Or...breaking apart.

She didn't go after Kai though, that day, and only listened as her father began to complain about lunch. It was easier, honestly, to listen to that than to confront whatever was happening to her friendship.

Her sister was throwing herself pretty heavily into her work as well as she and Ravan, a few days removed from officially signing on for the unsanctioned quest, found themselves sitting around a campfire, map spread before them as well as train schedules and their supplies, all dumped out on the ground, so they could truly strategize.

The biggest issue was figuring a schedule. They weren't certain what the time between each monster and location would be, but they wanted to figure the fastest route between each, before they started. They needed to account for any train irregularities, injuries, and any other sort of hold ups. Then there was the worry of getting lost in one of the five hidden locations. They had to allot time for that.

"What's even your plan?" Haven asked eventually as they sat around together, afterwards. He was smoking and she was toying with one of the two pendants that hung from her neck. The gem. "Ravan?" When he glanced over at her, she said, "After all this. You think that this is gonna, like, skyrocket your value at the guild or something? Or that it'll make Laxus make you S-Class? Is that what you want? 'cause I doubt you're getting it. Pretty sure he hates you."

It wasn't like the slayer ever hid that sort of thing well.

"I don't care about ranks." His bandanna was down around his neck and his scars looked even more interesting to the blonde in the firelight. "At all."

"What happened to you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"When we were in Crocus, you were… Did you put a...lacrima in you? That's how you got your power, right?" Through the fire, she could only stare at the scarring that ran down the underside of his jaw. "When Marin put one in her, it wasn't that big of a deal. Why did it fuck you up so much? And why'd you even do it?"

"Marin's body accepted the lacrima," he said with a shrug. "Mine didn't. If hers hadn't, your dad probably would have just taken it back out of her. It's just a procedure. Cut you open, put it in. Cut you open, take it out. But now she couldn't take it out, now that her body's absorbed it and become connected to it."

"But why didn't you just take it out then?"

"I had it put in for a reason."

"It made you sick. Right? Kai told me in Crocus that it nearly killed you."

"It took a lot to adjust."

She sat there for a moment, just watching. Thinking. Then, with a bit of a shrug, she said, "You're here."

"I am."

"How much did it set you back?" she asked. "The lacrima? And to pay a doctor to cut you open? Or did you have someone from the guild help with that?"

It was his turn to stare before, after a long drag, he said, "I did it."

"Did what?" Her eyes widened at his blank stare. "Ravan, are you serious? You cut yourself open and-"

"I read up on it first."

"You have lost your mind. What's happened since I've been gone? You're all so stupid now and-"

"I've," he told her tersely, "gotten stronger. That's what happened. I'm stronger than you now."

And she couldn't help it. She laughed. At him. When all this got was a strong stare in response, she slowly began to return it with one of her own.

"You're not serious."

"I am. I meant everything I said back at the guild. I'm stronger than everyone. I-"

"Fuck you, Ravan."

"You can feel it, Haven. Admit it. You-"

"You," she took over instead, "got a little bit of magical power now, a lot of it, fine, and think that makes you some sort of wizard god or something. It doesn't. What? Did you learn a few new spells? Instead of just your lame sword tricks? You're not better than me, Ravan. And don't say you are again. Or else."

That time, instead of just staring, he immediately told her, "I don't want to fight you Haven."

"Good."

"But not because I can't beat you."

"Ravan-"

"It's because there's no need." And he took a drag once more, blowing his smoke into the night air. "Don't be mad, Haven. You had a chance at it too."

"At what?" she growled because, oh yeah, fuck the monsters, she was about to slay him instead.

"The lacrima."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to spend thousands of jewels on some stupid-"

"You buried it." He didn't bring the cigarette back up to his mouth that time. "You and your dumb boyfriend."

That got Haven to jump up, finally, to her feet. "You fucking thief! You-"

"It was our job. Me and you. You didn't want the reward. So I took it."

"I'm going to fucking rip it out of you! Right now! What the fuck, Ravan? How could you-"

"The man was dead, Haven. He is dead." He shook his head a bit. "You and Locke really are stupid if you think you did something by burying an expensive lacrima in...what? His honor? Fuck that. I needed it so I took it."

"You stole it."

"I thought you were a treasure hunter now? Or do you just get special rules to play by? You fucking slayer kids-"

"You're still bitter about that kind of stuff?" It was her turn to feel high and mighty. It helped that he was still seated. "What's wrong with you? None of us even care about you. You get that, right? Navi doesn't, Locke doesn't, and I-"

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you."

"I waited for you."

"You shouldn't have."

Shoving up, Ravan disappeared into the forest and it was for the best. Haven was seconds away from reminding him of his place.

Which, of course, from her standing was beneath her. Always. All of them. His new found arrogance bothered her heavily, but mostly because it clashed with her own. Ravan going around, declaring himself better than everyone under the sun, was beyond infringement; it was infuriating.

Haven had come back different. Changed. But out in the woods with Ravan, she wanted nothing more than to fall back into her old self. To go chase after him. Beat the shit out of him. It's what Ravan deserved. But…

Groaning, she eventually kicked the fire out and then went to fall into her sleeping bag.

It wasn't her job anymore. To reign the others in. When they faced that monster, yeah, she was going to be the one in control, it was going to be her kill, everything about this was all on her because that's how she always was, when faced with an enemy, but outside of that, she had to just let Ravan do whatever he wanted. He had been, after all, for nearly three years at that point.

Her leash on the others was all, but gone.

She heard Ravan come back eventually and he only fell into his own pack and they snoozed until the early dawn hours. It was time to set out. Begin.

They didn't talk to one another as they went along, deeper into the forest, towards the first location. Haven held the map and led the way, like always, and even though they weren't speaking because of their spat, it almost felt like it had when they were just becoming friends and would go out on jobs, sometimes, without Locke and Navi. And they wouldn't talk much because there wasn't anything to say, really, about anything. They'd just walk along, together, and it would be nice.

It was nice.

The map was broad and ambiguous, so it took more than a bit of searching to find the less traveled path and figure the correct way down it. When they did, they were greeted to a clearing with a little stone pillar in the center that came up about waist high. Down the sides of it were little carves in a language neither recognized on sight. Haven felt a bit bad that Locke wasn't there. He'd be super into that portion of things, at least.

Dropping their packs at the edge of the clearing, Haven and Ravan walked together over to the pedestal. For the first time since the campfire, they were looking into one another's eyes. Wordlessly, they began together, Haven hovering her hands over the little round top of the pedestal, Ravan with his above hers.

When words fell from their mouths, it was in conjunction and clarity as neither stumbled over the short summoning spell they'd studied on the back of the map the past few days.

Officially, their gauntlet began.

As the pedestal began to glow, the chiseled lettering giving off a soft, blue light, both Haven and Ravan took steps backwards as a tremor ran through the ground. Before the pedestal there formed seemingly from thin air a truly wicked beast. As magical particles in the air came together to form him, they were presented with scaled foe, head adorned with twisted horns that came to sharp points. The massive monstrosity separated them then, but Haven could see, as the beast threw it's head back with a ground shaking roar, glimpses of Ravan as he reequipped into his armor.

It was different than the one that she'd helped him pick out years ago. Still styled the same, still all black with a red embezzled Fairy Tail emblem over the heart, but it looked more expensive and he wore armor over his legs now, apparently finally finding it more suitable or perhaps, even having enough excess magic to carry it in his reequip.

As she could just barely catch a glimpse of herself in the reflection of his shiny black helmet, Haven was reminded harshly that she couldn't just gawk. A sharp claw swung out towards her, only missing because, in a flash, she used her Lightning Body Magic to zag across the sky and out of the way.

When she landed, easily, further away, she could only watch as Ravan didn't summon a sword, but rather some sort of heavy, lengthy chain, which he held in both hands, a mace of some sort hooked onto the end. The beast turned it's eyes on the man as he swung it once, twice over his head, nice and slow as the beast only lowered its head, as if ready to ram him, spear him right through the plated armor with the needle sharp horns that lay there.

But just as it seemed he'd begin to make his charge, Ravan released one hand on the chain, keeping a tight grip on the other as the barbs of the mace smashed with a sickening crack of shattered scales, the sound nearly drowned out by the yowl of excruciating pain the monster was in as Ravan drug him forcefully straight to the ground. With his now free hand, he summoned a short, gem encrusted dagger which he threw with easy precision, the blade spinning over and over as it hurled itself towards the beast, piercing with ease one of the bulging dark red eyeballs with a repugnant pop that flashed both mages back to the little office in the no name town, where a woman sat typing her days away, smacking her gum to pop at the most dramatic of moments.

And oh if it wasn't a dramatic moment then as with one last scream, which was cut short, the beast was scent back away to wherever unsummoned beasts go, and it was just the pair of them, alone, once more, in a remote location in forest.

Glimmering in the light though, as it tumbled seemingly down from nothingness, a single golden token fell to the ground. Haven recovered from the moment first and, rushing forwards to pick it up, she studied the writing that laid on one side.

A timer, in red digits, counting down slowly for the moment, with days still out, but soon enough, it would be speeding by.

Their time limit.

But Haven couldn't even focus on that. As she shoved the coin into her pocket, she was just as quickly moving over to where Ravan stood, sending all of his things back into his reequip space, until it was just him, in his jeans and hoodie, bandanna pulled tightly around his the bottom portion of his face.

"You think you're the fucking shit? Ravan? Asshole." And she had no problem with the fact he now towered over her, apparently finishing his growing in their time away from one another. Reaching out, she grabbed his stupid hoodie in her fist, jerking him towards her, and they hadn't had such animosity between them since the early years, but it was jumping off her just as much as the little bolts of electricity. "I could have taken that thing out when I was ten. That was level one, you idiot. A trick. To make stupid mages, like you, think they can handle this. A taste. That convinces people to go on, just so they can get slaughtered later. And you fell for it. Did you think that you were super cool, Ravan? Huh? Did you think you impressed me? 'cause you didn't. Child shit. If that's what your lacrima's given you, then you fucked with the dead for no damn reason."

He didn't move. Jerk away. Shove her away. Do anything, really, other than stare at her.

"My reequip abilities grew on their own." Looking her dead in the eyes, he remarked, "You'll be a lot more jealous when you see it."

"I'm not jealous of shit." It was her that shoved him away then, moving instead to pull the token out of her pocket. "Ever. Now come on. We got what we came for. Onto the next."

But he only gestured back to the part of the clearing they'd entered. "After you."

That got him the dirtiest look of all, but still, Haven turned to continue on. The Gauntlet waited for no man.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's wrong with you?"

Kai frowned as he was joined at the table by Locke. Under a normal circumstance, he'd greet the older guy and ask him about the job he'd just returned from. But they weren't under normal circumstances. No. They were trapped in a circumstance in which Marin had called him annoying the other day.

The horror.

He just shrugged though as Locke raised his hand, not even allowing Lisanna to make the trek all the way over there before just calling out to her that he wanted something to eat. Anything. Clearly, it had been a rough few days for him.

Which was perfect, given the situation, Kai felt. They could commiserate together. Those terrible, terrible Dreyar girls. Horrible.

But no. Marin wasn't horrible. Haven was pretty horrible, but also now maybe his sister-in-law, Kai was pretty sure, so he couldn't talk too much shit. But maybe he and Locke could have a drink together, like real men, like Elf always said men did, when they were all broken up over women ("Or guys, I guess, yeah," he'd offer for Kai's sake), and he and Locke weren't too close in those days (if they were ever), but this could really cement a bond.

You know, before the whole Haven getting hitched to his brother destroyed any sort of friendship they had.

Deciding to keep that completely self fabricated piece of info to himself, Kai opened his mouth to offer Locke something close to a condolence, over Haven leaving him again (though he'd have to be careful not to mention Ravan), but the words got caught in his throat as, suddenly, someone came to stand behind Locke.

He jumped up instead, at the sight of Gajeel. He and the man had had a run in, a could weeks back, when Kai found him gnawing on some of the metal gardening tools and, well, Gajeel more or less told the little shit if he even so much as breathed wrong around him, he could end him.

Kai trusted Marin to protect him against anyone. Other than a more powerful dragon slayer.

Especially considering she thought he was _annoying_ now.

"You are annoying," was all Erza offered in words of encouragement that morning over breakfast. "You always have been. Why is this surprising?"

"I'm not surprised," he'd complained, "that I'm annoying, Erza."

"Good."

"But Marin's never not wanted to do something. And then to tell me to leave her alone-"

"Why would you and your boyfriend want her to hang about anyways? Sounds awkward for me."

"Well, you like it when Jellal is in town and I stay around the house all day, with the two of you, hanging out, right?"

That just got a stare.

Then, sighing into her coffee, the swordswoman offered, "I'm sure when you arrive at the hall today, you will find Marin all ready to make up."

But he hadn't. Because Marin wasn't there.

This had less to do with her not wanting to be, however, and more to do with Laxus' guilty conscious weighing on him after the day before. The idea that his daughter was just going to waste her days away in his guildhall, serving those drunks and ingrates was not a new thought, but when presented as her only joy, well, that was a problem. So he forced her to take the day off.

Mirajane was annoyed a bit by this, he could tell, who had to go in instead, but what could you do?

When Kai came in for his shift that morning, it was to find his best friend not around and her mother claiming she wouldn't be for the entire day. He worried, for a moment, that she was sick, but then Mira only shook her head.

"She's taking," the woman explained, "a personal day."

Away from him, he finished in his head.

Of course.

Because he was annoying.

Not wanting to be that way towards Gajeel, least he draw the wrath of a true dragon slayer, Kai figured it was best to just get back to work. Locke though had no such escape as his job was completed and, short of rushing right back out on another one, that exact second, he had to at least talk to his father a bit.

The man sat right beside him as Lily fluttered down to land on the table, and Locke expected some ribbing. Some sort of snide comment. It was what his father was best at. He seemed to take some sort of vindictive pleasure out of making his son miserable. He had since he was a boy. Locke was so goody goody and, his worst quality, seemingly indentured to the oldest Dreyar daughter, which looked super bad for Gajeel who already had to admit that Laxus was stronger than him and soon to be his guild master. Add in that his son, who was bigger, stronger, and older than Haven completely submitted to her will and, well, it felt pretty damn emasculating.

To have such an easy chance at his son right then, what with Haven, once more, running out on him, to deliver some heavy handed shots, well, Locke couldn't even blame his father for them. Not really. He felt even, maybe, as if he deserved them. Duped. Bamboozled. Again. His father could throw his worst at him. It wouldn't make him feel any lower about the situation than he already did.

But Gajeel didn't say anything, as they sat there. Only griped when Lisanna presented his son with a meal and not him because how do you figure that? A boy eating before his father? And Lily didn't say much either, definitely not on the topic of Haven, and for as low and shitty as he was feeling, Locke was actually not looking some grim when his mother joined them.

She smiled at him, softly, but her eyes were just as quickly on his father as she presented him with a book of some sort and was talking about a recent job and it was just that easy, wasn't it? Locke sighed down at his food some as he realized it. Haven had popped the seam just a bit, but now she was gone and Fairy Tail was stitching right back up without her in it, like it had been, for a good amount of time by that point.

He just needed to do the same.

If it was any consolation to him, Ravan and Haven weren't having too great a time out on their misadventure. They'd slayed one monster, sure, but they had to travel to the next. Which, really, wasn't too difficult. But being around someone you wanted to bash the brains in of wasn't exactly pleasurable.

Ravan's life in Haven's three year absence had gone through an immense amount of changes, but at it's core, was still the same. The day she road the first train out of Magnolia was the day he found out how truly alone he was, the entire time. He'd still had his brother, of course, and Erza, always, but things were different then. He lost the only peer he had that was actually friendly with him. Navi and he had never been anything close to friends and Locke was now his only sworn enemy, so he was just kind of...adrift.

Maybe in a better world he could have at least attempted to make other friend with the people in the hall. But Ravan was far from approachable and his own natural disposition made it difficult for him to approach others. Haven had made enemies out of most anyone in the spectrum of their age range and though the guildhall grew everyday, without her in it, he found himself to be the friendless loser he was before ever making amends with the Dreyar girl all those years ago.

So he waited. For her to come back. Something told him she would. At first, after accepting his lacrima and the fate that this entailed, he thought that if she did come back, she would see just how great and powerful he was and maybe, well… Maybe they could team up. She'd want to go with him, out there in the world, and they could finally capture all the things they always wanted to. Together.

Power and magic were always goals of his as well. While Haven had grown up pining to beat her father (and probably everyone else too) in battle, he'd only ever wanted to have Erza congratulate him, really congratulate him, on having learned everything she had to offer.

But Haven didn't come back. And by the time that he ran into her in Crocus, something had changed. Unlike with Locke and Navi, who had spent their entire lives up to that point with the girl and were more accepting of her needs and desires, Ravan and Haven had had one major evolution in their relationship over the years. They went from absolutely admonishing the other, with vitriol and hellfire, to a tense standoff into near perfect friendship. It helped that, other than Locke for Haven, neither of them seemed to have many of those. Friends. So it worked that they were one another's only when the Redfox boy wasn't around. Had he never been around to begin with, Locke, well…

Well…

But he was and the whole events of Incidio played out like they did, and with hardly any deeper connection, on Haven's end of things at least, staked in their friendship, Ravan found out quickly that it wasn't as meaningful as he'd always thought. Or at least it didn't feel that way. When Haven was ignoring everyone from her old life equally, that made sense.

When she started picking and choosing who to communicate heavily with and he wasn't one of them, well, yeah that still made a bit of sense. He wasn't Locke, not to Haven or even in general, and his life went on without the blonde. He was in no way stuck up on her, following Crocus. Learned everything he needed.

When Erza got injured, he had very little time for anything outside of frequent, hard jobs to gather jewels and keep his family stable. Kai's efforts were appreciated and Erza's insistence things go different admirable, but Ravan didn't have a lot going for him, outside of his own personal convictions. Long were the days that he resented his younger brother and thought of the woman as a tyrant. He had far more memories of his life from before, than Kai did, and felt pangs of loss at times, over the lives of his parents and other family, but at the same time, most of his formative years were under the tutelage of the woman instead. Unlike his brother, who seemed to struggle with truly grasping this, Ravan knew he could have a place in his heart for his parents and the woman.

Erza raised him just as much as they had.

So he would have scarified everything to care for her. Had he run off, like Haven told him to, or even gone off with Haven at some point, he'd have coming right back to her. How could he not? Erza gave him all she had in the world; he'd always return that back to her. Whenever she needed him. Just like he knew she'd come for him, if he was ever too far from home, and needed her.

He didn't begrudge the woman any longer, the way Haven seemed to her family.

One of the few things that separated them.

Had Haven returned in those times, when Erza was first all laid up, Ravan probably wouldn't have wanted much to do with her. They'd be on two years of contact, what, once? During that time? Yeah, no, sorry. But then...Haven didn't come back looking for him. No, rather as Erza got better, he found that his interest in just what had taken her down only grew.

The Monster Gauntlet.

Arrogant is what a lot of people called him now and fine, yeah, sure, maybe he was, but Ravan wasn't completely out of his mind. He knew, deep down, that if he attempted it on his own...but with the help of someone else who had the same no quit, win or die trying attitude as him…

So to say that he spent the entire nearly three year period sitting around, twiddling his thumbs, just hoping the oldest Dreyar daughter returned home, like pathetic, weak Locke did, would be incorrect. Ravan didn't.

But he did count on it. As Erza improved, he almost bet on it. He hoped, even, just to run into Haven out and about Fiore. There was always a chance for that. It would make things even simpler, honestly. Between the two of them, there was no way that they weren't walking about from the challenge victors.

Their dynamic was off though. Changed. Different. The awkwardness of distance couldn't be broke through giggles and whispers, like it was for her and Locke. No. Only continued time together would at least give them some sort of re-ignition. And even then…

Ravan knew once it was all over, after she had the power she wanted, they'd probably go their separate ways. He didn't like the idea of it, not really, as a deep part of him kind of wanted Haven to come back and for them to fall back into their old routine, but to ignore the past three years was ridiculous. She seemed to have enjoyed her time away and gave off little indication of this being not true.

She was going to get stronger, with him, and then ditch him to find even more power.

Trite and tired, but Haven's typical behavior.

"I fucking hate," Haven muttered at one point as the wind picked up some and she pulled a jacket out of her pack to slip on, "the winter. It's so fucking cold. Wet. Camping sucks, people are even more assholes than usual because it's cold, and when the snow sets in, it makes it impossible to travel quickly anywhere."

Ravan experienced these things well, of course, to a much smaller degree, but it felt like they were at least having an actual conversation then, for the first time since the initial monster. They hadn't spoken when they stopped off to eat or even as they boarded trains. Just ignored one another.

At least now she was speaking to him again.

Instead of offering up any sort of rebuttal or intriguing reply though, Ravan could only shrug because he'd fallen into his silent ruse then, for the day, and it was just so hard to get out of it. Not that it mattered. Haven was hardly even paying attention to him.

"Hopefully," she continued on, "we finish all of that before winter really gets here. I'll have a lot to do, I guess, since I'll be home for the festival this year. Everyone will think that I'm just going to give them gifts-"

"What do you mean?" That got him to speak. "The Festival isn't for another month and a half. Why would you still be here? This won't take that long."

That got her to glance over her shoulder at him. They were trekking through the woods then, nearing in on their second target.

"If I get the power I want, out of this," she said with a slight shrug, "then I'm done."

"Done with what?"

"With all of it." She turned then, around fully, so that she could walk backwards and look him in the eyes. "I'm going to go home from here, if I get my power, and...stay with Locke. If I don't, then...then I'm not supposed to get it. That's what we decided."

"Who decided?"

"Me and Locke."

"I thought you ran out on him?"

"He helped me decide without realizing it, fine, is that what you want to hear?"

He didn't want to hear any of it."

"You," Ravan began from behind his bandanna and Haven only rolled her eyes, twirling on her feet so she didn't have to face him any longer, "are not going back to Magnolia and...what? What are you and Locke going to do together? You're gonna marry him?"

"Shut up. No. Shut up."

"So you're either going to get all that power and then sit on your ass with it, in Magnolia, or you're never going to get more power and still going to go back and sit on your ass in Magnolia. Bullshit, Haven." He almost felt angry with her, just for the implication. "You do not want that."

"You don't know what I want."

"I know that you're not going to go back home and marry Locke and, what? Rejoin? Have kids? Won't that be something. You guys are going to be so cute together. Your little family."

"Shut," she warned that time with a glare over her shoulder, "up.?

"That's what he wants. You get that, right? You coming back to him would just mean that you're agreeing to that. That you're going to do that. Then you'll be stuck again. Do you want to get stuck again?"

"Why do you care so much? Huh?" She was tugging at the sleeve of the jacket, as if uncomfortable in it. "What I do with Locke? It's really none of your business."

"All this for nothing, huh? We're risking our lives for nothing? So you can go be Locke's little girlfriend?" He snorted so hard it hurt. "You don't even believe that. Haven. We're going to beat these fucking monsters, so that's no the issue, but once you get your power or lacrima or whatever the fuck it is, you're only going to want more. You always want more. There's no more in Magnolia and you know it."

She'd have slugged him by now. Before. But now Haven only seethed as she walked along and he could only push her so far, sure, but at the moment, he hadn't crossed a line.

Yet.

"For someone," she finally retorted, "that has no friends, literally none at all, you sure seem to think you know a lot about them. You're just as much of a loser as when I left, Ravan. Just because you're stronger now doesn't change that. Stupid."

He swallowed this with ease. It was something he'd long accepted. It didn't cut him anymore, to have it thrown in his face that he was alone. When he was younger, he forced himself into the corner of solitude due to his inability to process his feelings properly and lashing out as a result. Now, he was alone because of a mixture of his own hubris and a desire to be so. Ravan found strength in isolation and found it to aid him on jobs. He wasn't longing or missing anything because he already had most of all he ever had with him, all alone, on jobs far from home.

Still, the feeling of another person, mostly just one other one, there, going through the same thing as you was one that he felt kind of nostalgic for. The days when this was him and Haven, spending their mid-teens on the open road, kicking ass at jobs. It was still like being alone, but better, because you weren't.

Not really.

His hopes for the Monster Gauntlet to go much the same were being dashed left and right, however, and when he didn't reply to her jab, Haven only walked faster, just enough to put some distance between them.

It was just as well.

When they reached the second pedestal, there were no nerves between the two like there had been previously. No. If Ravan had something to prove before, Haven certainly did this time. She felt shown up and that was never something that sat rightly on the blonde.

The location was at the bottom of a cliff, the pedastal right before it, and as Ravan found himself just thankful they hadn't had to make a descent down it, to get to the location, Haven just pulled out the token to check. Be certain. She already knew though.

There with a whole day to spare.

Silence was still between them as the two seemed more ready than ever to get on with things.

The etchings on the side of the pedestal glowed a dark red color this time around and, as the ground shook, Haven only took a few steps back, to get in proper position. Before Ravan could even transform into his armor, she was already sparking, little jolts jumping off her body as she charged up for the imminent threat.

As something materialized before them though, it wasn't exactly what they were expecting. Some sort of massive, gnarled beast. No. It stood about Ravan's height, perhaps short than even, but rather than being covered in scales like the prior, this one was littered with spikes all along his back and arms. This wasn't the case for it's barren front, however, and as the monster only blinked at them, for a moment, both Haven and Ravan tried to figure out just what it's ploy was.

When the thing doubled over, she even though that maybe it wasn't the monster at all, that had been summed. Some mistake had happened and some sort of weird, hedgehog half breed was standing before them. Yes. That had to be it. Had to.

But it was keeling over. Rather, it was folding over, into itself, rolling into a tight ball of...of spikes. And it-

"Look out," Haven yelled at Ravan after a magic circle appeared behind the beast and it suddenly had all the momentum in the world, whirling across the clearing over to where the man was standing. He didn't move though, as it came crashing into him, and though Ravan staggered back a step, the rolling ball of spikes merely bounced off the armor and went sailing through the air.

Frowning at this, Haven merely turned her sights onto where the ball had landed. It was revving up again, this time aimed at her, and this was going to be her kill. She could just feel it.

With a loud shout, Haven shot a stream of lightning straight for the spikes, hoping this shock would force the thing to open up and allow her to deliver a punch of two. That was clearly it's weakness. But her bolts of lighting didn't have this affect at all.

"You fucking," she heard Ravan complained from inside his helmet, "electrified it!"

Oh, yes, she had.

When it launched itself at Haven, there were sparks jumping from every which way and though she easily evaded the monster, it was pretty obvious she'd only aided their enemy.

Ravan was summoning then, from his reequip space, a battle ax. It was large and looked heavily weighted, Haven observed, as it required the grip of both hands to wield. That time, when the ball of spikes were headed his way, he neither dodged like the blonde, nor stood still, like he had previously. Rather, he reared back and as his battle ax connected with the ball, it's sharpened blade fitting just between the rows of spikes to make contact with the hard shell, it cracked.

Not the shell.

Not the ball.

No.

It was with a loud cracking noise that a spiderweb-like fracture formed on the blade, slowly climbing from the thin edge all the way to the handle before shattering.

"My ax!" Ravan couldn't help it. He could only grip the handle in shock. This was to his own misfortune as the electricity took hold of the handle, traveling down it and into onto his hands. It'd been a bit, since he'd felt Haven's lightning.

It was not exactly pleasurable.

As he dropped the handle with a curse, it went back to his reequip space along with the now broken fragments of the blade. Haven's lightning was searing though, it felt like, the cloth of his gloves into his flesh, and when he finally glanced up from them, it was just in time to see the spiked ball had revved back and was headed straight towards him once more. Bracing for this, Ravan involuntarily shut his eyes.

But it didn't come.

When his eyes popped back up, it was to find Haven on the other side of the clearing, arms stretched out, at first he thought sending more lighting towards the spiked ball, which hung suspended in the air before him. Then he realized that the electricity jumping from her hands was actually flowing in reverse and she was using the jolts from the spiked ball to stop it from crashing into him.

But the ball wasn't generating and she was soon going to have taken all she could from it. Ravan was uncertain of her plan, but did give a bit of a start when she jerked a hand back, pulling the last bit of electricity, and the spiked monster, towards her at an alarming rate.

Haven fell though, to the ground, just before it smashed into her, and the ball went sailing on by, slamming into the rocky cliff behind the pedestal. This caused a bigger jump out of the man, truly, as the sound almost convinced him that they had to worry about the face of the cliff collapsing. But no. The spiked ball did cause some debris to fall, but this was merely because the spikes were burrowed deeply in there and, as the pair watched, they could tell the monster couldn't get out.

"Hammer."

He frowned as she walked over at him, but it was from behind his helmet, and the woman wasn't looking at him anyways. Just glaring over at where the beast stayed, truly suspended then, slammed into the wall.

Not entirely sure of her intentions, Ravan summoned a simple short handled war hammer from his arsenal. Haven tossed it in right hand, once, twice, three times after he gave it to her. Sizing it up. Then, a loud crack of thunder jumped across the sky and, rearing back, Haven released the hammer just as the bolt struck the weapon, electrified now as it turned end over end until it smashed squarely into a single spike purtruding from the body of the beast. The force of this drove the spike with such intensity back against the shell it was anchored to that it began to crack and before long, ti was in pieces all about, spikes raining down from the cliff side as a little, pink, now bare, monster stood before them.

She didn't even give Ravan a chance. Haven held out a hand, shooting a bolt straight at the now defenseless beast and just like that, they had a new token.

"That," she remarked as the hammer disappeared into his reequip and she merely went to retrieve the token, "is how you beat a monster."

There was a desire in her, he could see it, for him to be snarky about this. Or maybe even jealous. The way she'd been at the last beast. But Ravan wasn't any of those things towards Haven. Ever. Not since they were mortal enemies. Ever since their shaky truce was reached, the only thing Ravan wanted, more than anything, was for him and Haven to get their immense power.

Together.

And now two out of five in the gauntlet down, this felt as if it had a true chance of occurring.

As the two of them were strengthening their bond, however, Laxus was finding his typically rocky one with his wife was about at the same unsteady mess it typically was.

"You okay? Demon." He couldn't help it. He felt a bit smug to find her slamming cabinet doors in the kitchen and sulking about. "Seems like someone's in a bad mood."

"Shut up," she complained as she jerked a pot noisily out of a cabinet. "Laxus."

"Mad you actually had to, gee, I dunno, work your whole shift? Man, if I only I couldda told you ten years ago, hell, even five, that you would hate that-"

"After working all day, on short notice, I am in the kitchen cooking you food. Do you really want to push me right now?"

"I'm just joking." And he lost any joy in the moment as he went ot get a beer instead. "Calm down."

"I'm not in the mood for-"

"Damn, then, Mira, we just won't talk."

And they didn't. Not until the meal was ready. Instead, he sat and drank at the table as she filtered about and, eventually, joined him with their plates.

"Where," was the break in silence, given by Mirajane, "is Marin?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

He shrugged. "I told her to get out. It bugs me, the way she just...doesn't do things."

"She does plenty, Laxus."

"She works."

"That's doing something."

"Not something fun." He thought of a quip about her attitude over, you know, having to work, but decided against it. "Marin just...exists. It annoys me."

"I worked everyday, when I was her age."

"Was your father a guild master? Did you have the luxury of not having to? No. So it's not the same."

Mira made something of a face. It wasn't like she didn't notice Marin's lack of social skills that didn't directly involve tending to the guildhall; it was just that she kind of, well, benefited from this. Not to mention, Marin had always been skittish and apprehensive. She didn't see how forcing her into situations where she wasn't comfortable helped anything.

And Laxus, apparently, tossing her out of the house while also barring her from going to the guildhall, just spelled an uncomfortable situation.

"She's fighting with her only friend," Mira complained then. "Like seriously fighting. For the first time ever. She's just going to go to Lisanna's-"

"I told her not to."

"Then Elf-"

"There either."

"Then where do you think she is, Laxus? Training?"

"None of that either."

"Then where did you send her?"

"To meet new people." He stabbed at the beef on his plate with aggravation. "She can take that however she wants."

Mira stared at him, for a long hard moment, before asking, "Did you say she can't go to Erza's?"

"Why would I say-"

"She's with Erza."

And she was. Marin knew Kai would be very busy at work, so she wouldn't have to worry about him being about, but the swordswoman, well, it wasn't like she had much to occupy her time in those days. She welcomed her, anyways, when the youngest Dreyar girl showed up on her doorstep.

"Kai is working and you are...not? For some reason? If your mother sent you over here to spy on me-"

"Dad won't let me work today. Or train, even."

"And why is that?"

Marin only shrugged though, to which the woman frowned some. Still, after letting her in, Erza moved with far more ease than she had in weeks past, back over to the couch. Falling into it with caution, the redhead remarked simply, "Idle hands are not an admirable trait. Still, a day off on the occasion can do the mind and body well."

Looking about, Marin's eyes easily fell to the kitchen.

"I," she tried, "could go and clean up in the-"

"I doubt your father wished for you to come over here and work instead, Marin."

She sighed, the girl did, as she went to sit beside the woman. Erza merely stared down at her as the white haired teen slumped forwards, elbows rested on her knees. Observing quietly for a moment, eventually, she found a question.

"Tell me something, yes?" Erza continued to stare down at her as she asked, "Do you have any idea what your sister and Ravan might be doing together?"

"Kai," she whispered softly, just the sound of his name making her feel something close to guilt, "thinks they're...well..."

"Yes?"

"He kind of wants them to get married. So that we can all be related."

Erza, who'd long dreamed of Ravan bringing home a girl, any girl, for any reason, at all, for some reason was starting to get a very heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach over the whole thing.

"Yes, well," she replied sourly, "anything is possible, I guess."

"I hope not."

"Why is that? Our ilk is not good enough for yours?"

Marin was quick to shake her head and even looked the woman in the eyes as she said, "No. I just really...well..."

"I understand." She deflated too, Erza did, at the thought. "Haven came around, to see me."

"She did?"

"It was...peculiar. Still, I have no idea what she and Ravan might wish with one another that they would run away in the middle of the night."

They both heard Kai's snicker in their heads and hated the very idea of it.

"Haven loves Locke," Marin offered, softly, and yes, Erza had often felt poorly for the boy over this fact.

"What of you?"

"W-Well, he's okay, I guess. I don't dislike him, but-"

"That's not what I meant." At all. Erza looked off then, up at the ceiling, as she said, "Your father wished for you to take a break, yes? To be stress free. Your sister, and talk of her, stresses you out, does it not? Then let's speak on you."

"W-Well, there's not really a lot to-"

"Kai has told me of your recent troubles."

"Troubles?"

"It is alright. Speak candidly." Erza sure was going to. "He's obnoxious. And his attitude since finding love has been pompous. And I am not a fan of his recent haircut-"

"Erza, it's none of that." Well, she too hadn't liked his knew trim. "It's just… We've always liked to do different things, but recently, the things we want to do are just conflicting and… I'm not miserable. At the bar. I belong there. I like it. A lot. Why is that a bad thing? Haven likes being on the road all the time, working, and no one is upset about that."

Well, actually, Laxus was. But he was upset mostly because his daughters didn't worship the ground beneath his feet. No one did. Other than the Thunder Legion. And even they were slacking in those days.

"Why is it bad? That I want to work there?" At one time, Marin would be a nervous wreck, beside the girl, but in the years of her sister's absence, she found Erza to be more than just her and Kai's constant wrangler. As she began to take her magic more seriously though, Marin found the woman to be her biggest supporter as her mother usually seemed swamped in her own head and her father openly opposed the idea. Considering her next closest female confidants were Lisanna, who was in a steady state of discontentment as well with her marriage, and Evergreen, who was, well, Marin loved the woman, but she was kind of a bitch, to everyone, about everything, optimistic Erza felt far more inline with the girl's sensibilities and ideals. "If that's what I want to do, why should I feel bad about it? It's what my mom wanted to do. It's what Kinana's done her whole life."

"I imagine your family merely wishes you had goals, is all, outside of bar tending."

"I'm training on my magic a lot," Marin insisted. "I know that they don't think much of it, but I like it. It's...calming."

"You are a water mage," Erza told her with a nod. "Tranquility is the mainstay of the state. This does not mean that there are not upsets, not waves, but they always pass."

"I don't care that Kai wants to do other things. And I don't care that my parents think that I'm...a...that I'm not as good as… I don't care. I just want to do what I want to do."

"Tend," the woman clarified, just to be certain, "bar."

"And take care of the hall."

"Your grandfather, at least," Erza sighed, "would be proud to hear it. Someone finally taking the building into consideration."

"I just never liked fighting, like the others. And I don't like hanging out with people, like Kai likes. That's always been okay. Why is it suddenly not okay?"

"You grow older and people expect more from you, is all, I suppose." Erza shrugged some. "I think that you are doing a fine job, Marin, if it is any consolation."

This had to do, heavily, with the fact all she'd ever wanted from Marin and Kai was for them to get at least somewhat serious about their magic. To see the girl doing that, it was hard for Erza to find any critique in her other lifestyles.

Still, when this did nothing to raise her spirits, Erza insisted some as she added simply, "I am proud of you."

Blinking down at the ground for a moment, she was slow to raise her head, but when she did, Marin was only turning it to look into the eyes of the woman and, easily, found her lips beginning to form a similar grin as the woman.

No one could feel more pride that night though than Haven and Ravan felt in themselves. When Haven was hyped up (and usually that only occurred when it came to her own accomplishments), it was hard to miss. And though Ravan hid his enthusiasm well in most situations, it was hard to deny that he too was grinning beneath his bandanna and they had a few days, to get where they needed, and neither could deny that they wanted a drink and something real to eat.

A joint venture (though in Haven's mind, it had been far more solo) was enough to ease the pair up around one another greatly. She didn't whine about dumb Locke or try and throw pick a fight over who was more powerful. No. Just bragged on herself and her skills and her abilities as Ravan mostly tried to ignore the intense feeling he got, whenever his bandanna was off, around others, that everyone was watching him.

He'd become more than a little self-conscious about his scars.

Haven took little notice of this (she hardly noted anything when she was so high on herself) and mostly seemed to be using Ravan for what she used to; a willful listener to all her accomplishments. Since she'd come back, the blonde had felt a bit more reserved, if not worried over something, but one nostalgic victory had brought back the dreams of grandeur the pair used to share together.

"Don't look so nervous," she laughed at him, around a mug, mistaking his looks for fear. "Ravan. Weren't you the one that told me you were stronger than Erza? The Salamander? My father? What should we be afraid of. Me and you are going to prove we're stronger than fucking Wizard Saints. What are you so afraid of?"

But he didn't explain, merely shrugging instead, and Haven took to looking all about for someone that could cause this hesitance. Placing a huge guy, sitting over at the bar, she snickered some into the rest of her drink.

"Watch," she grinned at him, "this."

But Ravan was jumping up then, to grab her hand when she rose it, as if to strike the innocent (well, at least not bothering them) man with some bolts of lightning.

"What are you doing?" He just stood there, holding her fist in one of his hands. "Haven? Knock it off."

"You guild assholes are all the same." She jerked her fist free from his hold, but only moved to grab her mug of ale. "No fun."

"I'm not," he grumbled as he sat back down, "looking to get kicked out of somewhere."

"Because it reflects badly on your guild?" she sneered, but he just shook his head some and, well, they weren't fighting with one another any longer, but they weren't exactly on the same page either.

They camped out that night, after stumbling off a train both kind of drunk, kind of not, but enough that Haven was still seemed to be in an okay mood, and when they built a fire out in a clearing, It was mostly for the warmth, not because either planned to be up for long.

"So," Haven asked as she sat across from him, staring into the fire, watching it jump about on the sticks, "what are you going to do?"

"What are you talking about?" Ravan was smoking, like always, as he laid out on his sleeping bag instead, staring up at the clear sky above them. "Do with what?"

"After this. I told you, now you tell me."

"You didn't tell me anything. You lied."

"Did not."

"You know you're not going back to Magnolia, Haven, when this is all over. And if you do, it won't be for long. So-"

"You have no idea what I'm-"

"You're going to marry Locke?"

"I don't remember him asking me, Ravan, but thanks for putting it out there. Idiot."

"Why don't you just leave him alone?" He sat up then, Ravan did. Just in time to catch her glare. Great. "I mean it. You get him all worked up, thinking that you guys are together-"

"We are."

"You are not."

"What do you know about my relationship? Or anything about me?"

"Nothing, Haven, because you don't fucking talk to me. You haven't talked to me in a fucking year."

Her eyes went back to the fire and his cigarette didn't feel as rewarding as it had moments ago.

"You're always say that we're the same, but-"

"Don't act like you wouldn't be pissed if I left you behind and didn't even talk to you, for a fucking year, and then just came back around acting like-"

"I wasn't acting like anything. You're the one that wanted to go out on this together. Not the other way around. So why are you acting like a little bitch now?" But instead of letting him answer, she only snorted. "You're always so jealous of Locke."

"Fuck you. I'm stronger than your stupid boyfriend ever will be."

She didn't dispute it. Merely shook her head.

"I didn't write you," she told him then, softly, "because I had nothing to say to you. What do you have to say to me? I've hardly spoken to Navi either. We're just all living our lives now. How it's supposed to be. Locke's not like that though. We're...connected. He's...like my family. Marin and my mother. Locke's just different. And you shouldn't worry about me and him. Me and you are different."

Ravan only fell back then, into his sleeping bag. "You shouldn't treat someone you care so much about like shit."

There was no indication, Haven felt, if he were talking about himself or Locke, but she also didn't really want to find out. Rising to her feet, she kicked out the fire as he only laid there, smoking, listening.

"I got in a pretty bad way, once," she whispered into the night as she sat there, on her sleeping bag, no longer with a fire to glare at, "in Bosco. I, uh, got captured. And some fucked up shit… Those guys that I was with, in Crocus, they helped save me. But at a price. I was supposed to break into the capital, but you and Locke fucked that up for me. So I went around with them for a little bit more, trying to learn more about… But then he decided he wanted me to break into the guildhall. Fairy Tail. And steal from my father. Steal. Not find. I wouldn't do it and he was tired of me then. I was out of usefulness, I guess. I can respect that, but they didn't have to… When I get my power, Ravan, you're right. I'm not going back to Locke. I want to. Eventually. But first… I'm going back to them and every other fucking person that ever shit on me or something that I care about and I'm going to fuck them up. All of them."

He blew the smoke through his nose that time, out into the night, as he watched the bright moon above them.

"We'll do it together."

"Ravan-"

"What in the fucking world," he asked her, softly, "can beat us? After this? We'll be able to do every single thing we ever wanted to do."

She nodded some, to herself, before her mind went back to her original question.

"But what," she asked, "do you want to do? After this? After you prove yourself or whatever?"

He didn't answer. Just snubbed the butt of his cigarette out and rolled over, in his sleeping back, to hide his face from the world. Haven let it go, though she was still a bit annoyed with his reserve, and only fell back into her own.

How could he though? Tell her? That all he'd ever wanted was what he was getting right then? For them to be together, against every fucking thing? He meant it. Every word of it. His power frequently felt unmatched, but when you added her in…

They were more than just the same.

They belonged together.

Nothing could stop them when they were.


	6. Chapter 6

When Kai tumbled out of bed that morning, it was through yawns and wishing for more sleep. But he couldn't do that. Because he had to get up because Erza would be up soon and if he didn't get up, then she's just go ahead and make herself breakfast with, fine, wasn't that big of a deal, but Ravan would think it was a big deal, considering he told Kai to take care of the woman while he was gone and, well…

Bleh, he wished he could just go back to bed.

Tossing on a pair of shorts, he was careful not to trip over the stuff strewn across the floor (Erza was too tired, most days, to do daily inspections anymore) and headed to the kitchen to get started. Without Marin to remind him yesterday, he'd neglected to go to the market and that sucked because they were out of eggs, which meant they had to eat gross oats. Yuck. He was lamenting this fact as he went to find out what was taking Erza so long to get to the table.

"Erza? Are you up?" He knocked at her bedroom door. "Are you okay? Erza? Did something happen? Should I come in? You have to tell me first because, well, you know, and- I'm just gonna come in!"

He did so with panic coursing throughout his body, but a hand still thrown over his eyes. Not that it did much considering he was peeking through his fingers anyways. It mattered even less once he realized that, hey, she wasn't in there.

"Erza?" After flipping on the light, just to be sure, he turned around to head back out of her bedroom with a frown. "Where are you?"

Kai was had all sorts of horrible ideas running through his mind then. What if, like, someone snuck in and stole the woman? Kidnapped her? Were holding her for ransom? What if she'd, like, slept walk out of the house and was lost now? Fell into a creek? Drown? In a creek? Because she was sleeping and didn't wake up to realize her face was in the water? What if extraterrestrials came down and were, like, probing her or something else super gross, because if you could only probe one person, in the entirety of Earthland, to learn the secrets of humanity, wouldn't Erza be the one they picked?

"Ravan's gonna kill me," he whispered to himself because that was very true.

Having no idea what to do, after rushing through a house check and throwing on some clothes, Kai ran as fast as he could to the guildhall. The sun hadn't come up yet, but that just meant that Marin could be completely alone, for a little while at least, in the hall. How she liked it. She was keying into the place when she heard the quick footsteps echoing down the mostly empty street and, fear threading through her, she fumbled a bit, dropping the keys, and great.

Just great.

Haven would never let her live it down if this is how she died.

Oh, wait…

"Marin!"

"Kai?" The breath she let out was massive and visible in the cool air of the early morning. "What-"

"Erza's missing."

"Missing?"

"Yeah," he panted, out of breath. Leaning over, he felt like he might throw up. Noting this, Marin took a few steps back, but Kai only shook his head as he informed the ground as well, "She's, just gone."

"But that doesn't make any sense."

"I know that."

"Then-"

"I know that you're mad at me and you hate me because I'm annoying and stupid, but you have to help me, Marin, because-"

"I never called you stupid." It just went without saying. "Ever."

He just shook his head though, not raising it to look into her eyes. "It doesn't matter. Erza-"

"It does matter." Maybe not in that moment, but overall, certainly. "Kai, I just… I love you."

"Thanks," he gasped as, oh, no, yeah, he was gonna vomit soon. "But, uh-"

"And I'm sorry if it hurt your feelings that I called you annoying. I shouldn't have done that. You're not."

He was. He knew he was. But he still could only nod.

"But I'm not… I like spending all day at the guildhall. Around our guild members. Serving them. It's the only thing that I really feel a strong passion about. I know that's lame, but… I was thinking that… Haven always wanted to be like our dad, so much, but our mom does a lot to. She holds the guild together so much more than he does. I don't think that Magnolia is lame or that guild members are all drunks or-"

"Marin." He finally took in a deep breath, getting just enough air in his lungs to force himself back to standing straight. "We can hash it all out later, okay? I love you too. But Erza-"

"I'll find her for you." She reached out then, to hug him tightly, but quickly, before rushing off, at full speed. "I'll pick up her scent somewhere and lead you right back to her."

"But do you have to run?" he groaned as, unfortunately, the answer seemed to be yes. Turning to chase after her, he knew that at some point, that day, he was certainly going to be puking.

Marin picked up the scent of the woman easily and, as she followed it right back to the Scarlet household, Kai tried to insist that she was just following it in the reverse, but Marin seemed certain and, as they walked through the front door, it was to find a scowling Erza awaiting them.

"How-" Kai started, but Erza merely rose from the couch to address them.

"You let," she told him harshly, "a saucer of oats burning on the stove top, Kai. Where have you been?"

Crap. In his panic, he'd forgotten all about that.

"Me? Where have you been?" he challenged instead of accept his punishment. "I was looking for you. I was terrified, Erza. I thought you were getting probed!"

"You thought what?" Marin whispered softly with a frown, but the red haired woman merely huffed.

"I went," she told both teens with a glare, "training. I did not know it would cause such a fuss. Or my house potentially to be burned to the ground."

'Training?" Kai was the one annoyed then. "Erza, what did you do? Huh? And why didn't you tell me first? I'dda gone with you."

"You have never been able to keep up with me."

Even coming back from her massive injury, this no doubt still held true.

"What did you do?" Marin questioned then, softly. "Go for a run?"

Nodding, Erza said, "A short one. Then I walked about for a bit. I have been up and gone for hours, Kai."

"Hours?" He groaned then, eyes falling to the ground. "Why didn't you tell me? Have you been doing this? I don't think you're well enough, Erza. You should at least wait for Ravan to get back. He'll help you out, working out and all. And then-"

"I have returned, unscathed. Not much I can say for my poor stove-"

"I'm sorry, Erza. I panicked." He rubbed at his head then, glancing up at the woman. "I got real worried when I couldn't find you. You really shouldda said something to me."

"I am not the child, Kai. I do not answer to you." Still, coming over, she patted him on the head. "As two adults, however, sharing a household and as reliant as we both are on one another, it was wrong of me to not key you in to my plans. I apologize. I assumed I would return home before you arose. Worry over your brother and Marin's sister has merely caused me-"

"You think they're getting married too, huh?" That brought back his mood to normal levels as Kai snickered at the thought. When he saw the glares of the two women in his life, he said, "Well, maybe they're not, fine, but wouldn't it be great if they were? For the rest of us?"

Marin made something of a complaint, maybe, with a slight noise, but Erza just outright shot the idea down.

"It would be madness and I would not approve." Removing her hand from him then, she turned to walk off, a bit of a limp still noticeable. In the morning, when this would all catch back up to her, this would be far worse. But the woman was ready for pain. Real pain. The pain of getting herself back into fighting shape. It was something to look forward to, not run away from. "So please cease putting the idea into the universe, Kai."

But he glanced then, to his side, at Marin, and she smiled at him, just a bit. But not for long.

"I have to get to work."

He nodded some, not sure what else to say, and Marin seemed a bit at a loss as well. She'd only just left the house when Erza, having stopped in the doorway for a moment, glanced over her shoulder.

"Go be with your friend, Kai."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"But I have to make-"

"I can care for myself. You and Marin have fought long enough. I do not wish to hear about it happening again. Now go."

He took a long few glances at the woman before smiling.

"Thanks, Erza."

There was something of a grunt in kind or perhaps she was groaning out of pain, but regardless, Kai took off again, only having to run a bit this time to catch back up with Marin and when he did, the pain in his side ceased and vomit was far from his mind.

"Kai," she complained, just a bit though she still took his hand as they walked on, "there's nothing even for you to do right now, up at the hall. I was just going to go in early and do stock. You've already got the gardens all set and you've been watering them in the evening and I don't think there's a lot to do, today, as far as opening goes-"

"I just want to hang out with you, Marin." His teeth still showed, when he grinned as wide as he took to in those moments, but when it fell, he added, "Unless you wanna be alone-"

"No." She took a deep breath. "But you have to understand how important the guild is to me, Kai. Just like how I understand how important your relationship and fishing and Erza and all of your other things that you care about are to...you. Okay?" When he nodded, she looked off, watching the first peek of sunlight in the distance. "And...I don't like hanging out with you and Lance."

"What? Marin-"

"He doesn't like me and I don't really like him and you trying to force us to isn't going to work." She felt kind of like Haven then. In control of things. Just laying them out like that. Powerful, even, maybe a bit. But she had the pride of Erza on her side now and, well, that relieved a lot of the weights on her shoulders. "I'm not saying I don't like you guys together. I do. You like him and that's okay. That's fine. It's...great. You guys are great. And I don't care when he's around, but I'm not going to skip out on a shift at work, just to hang around you guys."

"I'll talk to him. About it." Kai sounded serious then, for once. He'd had a very confusing morning and this was doing nothing to help get him back on balance. "I'll tell him that you and him should-"

"Kai, no, you don't understand."

This was typically the case.

"I'm saying… Everything that we do… Doesn't' have to be together. If you want to be around the hall less now, especially since I think Erza's getting so much better then… You should. But I want to be there. Taking care of the guild is what I want. I think it's what I've always wanted." She smiled in the early dawn. "It's where I belong."

When she felt Kai's hand fall from hers, Marin came to an immediate stop, the smile fading as she turned to face him. His name was on her lips, but before any sound escaped, he was the one moving to hug her then, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, as he spoke.

"Sometimes," he told her softly, "I just wish things were how they were before."

She knew he meant more than just between the two of them and only patted at his back as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't."

After he released her though, Marin grinned again as she told him, "But you kind of, well, are all sweaty."

"I ran like the wind, Marin. You should have seen."

"I did hear," she offered with a giggle and, as he followed along, planning on spending some time in the bath house that morning, things felt settled between them. Steady.

As close to perfect as they got in those days.

Her father wasn't feeling too right that day, honestly, given he and the demon were on the outs. This usually spelled trouble for those who had the misfortune of being around the guildhall and Laxus planned on making some people's life a living hell that day. Honest, he was. But when he arrived, a bit later than planned, Marin was rushing right over to him. But it was back at the bar, where she saw Kai sitting around, previously having been conversing with the girl, that caught the slayer's eyes.

"Are you ready for your mail for the day?" his daughter asked as he sat down at his table with a frown. "Or do you want something to eat first?"

Instead of answering, he found himself questioning instead. "You talkin' to Kai again?"

"W-Well-"

Growling then, her father glanced about the hall instead. "You seen Bickslow around?"

"Not today," she told him with a bow of her head. "Dad, if you don't want anything, I really need to get back to-"

"Go," he grumbled. "But bring me a beer. And something to eat. And the mail."

She nodded, with that uneasy grin of hers, and Laxus didn't like making Marin uncomfortable. She was his baby. But he'd just been so stressed recently. That was all. Haven coming back and disappearing with Ravan had done little to relieve this.

Laxus was two beers deep and hardly at midday when Gajeel came in. He, like most the others in the hall, could immediately pick up on the Master's downcast mood and was planning on snagging a job and getting out of there. But while he was perusing them, while also grumbling at Natsu, who was doing the same, they might have gotten into a bit of a scuffle, which delayed him even further.

It was for the best. It was during that moment that his son returned, from a short job of his own. Abandoning the near beat down he was about to put on the other slayer, he turned instead to go speak with Locke and see if he wanted to head back out again, with his old man and Pantherlily.

But someone else got to him first.

"Locke," was the first thing Laxus had grumbled in over an hour. Just the sound of it made the man in question's blood run icily.

"Uh, Master?" he addressed the man, coming over to his table. Freed was sitting with Laxus then, going through paperwork, and even seemed a bit surprise to hear him summon the Redfox boy over. But Laxus didn't look at him. Only Locke.

"You just finish another job?" the older man questioned.

"Y-Yeah. Yes. Yes, I did, Master." Locke was completely lost on why the man was questioning this and more than a bit concerned. "Did you…get a letter from the town? Or something? Did I forget-"

"Come speak with me in my office." He rose then, Laxus did, leaving his mug behind. To Freed, he merely said, "Have Marin refill that."

Gajeel, stopped where he stood then, only glared after his son.

"What'd your boy do?" Natsu snickered, just from the sight, not giving up at getting a fight out of the other man. Lucy wasn't around (who in their right mind would be when Laxus was in such a mood) which meant there was no one around to put an end to it! Other than, like, Laxus, who would probably have slammed their heads together and taken all his anger off on the pair of them, but now with him off presumably doing that to poor Locke… "Anyways, come on! I'll fight ya for that job!"

But Gajeel could only snort and wouldn't even look at the other man again. He'd finally gotten Locke at least somewhat better after the last Dreyar ordeal; he did not want Laxus dragging up another one.

Locke had never really liked the man's office. At all. Even when he was a kid, it wasn't somewhere nice to be sent. Even if it was just under the request of the Master's wife, to fetch something, it always felt dark and kind of, well, unwelcoming. Now it held the bitter memory of Haven fleeing from it, all those years ago, after the ill-fated Incidio trip, and he really wished he'd not come to the hall at hall that day.

"Sit down," Laxus grumbled to him, nodding to the chair on the other side of his desk while the man, after settling into his own, only began to root around in one of his drawers. When he retrieved a cigar, he studied Locke for a moment before cutting it. "You smoke?"

"No." He shook his head heavily, tangled mass of dark hair wagging all about. "I don't."

"Good. Fuckin' gross," Laxus told him as he lit up. He took a deep inhale too, before asking, "You know where my daughter went?"

So he wasn't in trouble.

Still, frowning, Locke looked off. "Nope."

"I'm serious, Locke."

"So am I." Eyes drifting back to the man, he said, "She told me she was gonna stay, then ran off in the middle of the night with Ravan. I dunno where she went."

"No clue at all."

He shrugged. "I don't care either."

Laxus laughed, but it was dry, and might have just been him choking his own inhale. Still, plucking the cigar from his mouth, he watched the dark smoke as it drifted around the room for a moment, dissipating out the open window.

Then, to Locke once more, he said, "I wasn't gonna say anything to you about it. I wouldn't have. But I know how she fucks with your head for some stupid reason and, well, I'd feel a bit guilty, I guess, if she messed this up for you. Again."

"W-What are you talking about? Master?"

"I don't fuckin' hate ya, Locke. Not as much as I hate other damn thing in this guild, at least. I hate your fucking father though, if he asks."

He wouldn't.

He knew.

"But," Laxus went on after another puff of his cigar, "I do respect it. Your approach. What you bring to the table. It ain't just powerhouses that make it, you know. To the pinnicle. There's other things. I expect you'll get your ass kicked, anyways. Come back home with your tail between your legs. But you've at least earned the right to prove that."

"M-Master-"

"You ain't stupid, boy. You're not even a boy." Their eyes locked then, as Laxus warned, "Nothin's set in stone in this guild though. Understand? Plenty of time between now and when I announce S-Class. This conversation, it don't leave this room. Understand? I just felt like you might run off, with all of Haven's stupid shit. This is why you shouldn't. This is what's important to you. Isn't it? Fairy Tail? It never was to her. She shit on it every chance she got. But you're loyal, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes, Master. I am. I-"

"Don't make me regret my decisions, Locke. I never forget someone who does that." He looked back at the smoke then, as he blew some more smoke. After a moment though, he only snapped, "Fuck off already. Damn. I'm done with ya."

Stumbling to his feet, Locke bowed to the man and stuttered out some thanks, but Laxus was done with him then and looked about ready to grumble, so he turned quickly and rushed right from the room. As he shut the door behind him, Laxus' face lost some of the tension and, removing his cigar from his mouth, he just stared at the chair the man now vacated and sighed some.

"Fuckin' kids," he decided, but the feeling was gone and he didn't feel so angry anymore; just empty.

Locke felt anything but though, as he rushed back to the bar area. The Master's warnings however rang in his head and as he was hounded by both his father and Pantherlily for answers, Locke refused to give anything up. Just went to go select a new job off the board. Soon enough, he was certain, it would be another board entirely that he was perusing.

What could his father say then? Huh? When he was ranked above him? When his medical magic proved just as valuable as any strength and power he liked to lord over him? He never knew how much crow he wanted his father to eat until that exact moment, but oh, it was an endless buffet.

"So I guess the Master didn't get word Haven and Ravan got married and broke the news to him gently," Kai mused over at the bar as Marin only groaned, wiping it down while sending a glare his way.

"I thought Erza told you to stop saying that? And if someone else hears you-"

"Maybe he's just really excited that, you know, he doesn't have to worry about Haven anymore. Ravan and her'll probably move away, you know, live together, and-"

"Kai, be quiet," she groaned, but she was grinning at him and he snickered and it felt so good that day.

All of it.

When she got off, Ajax was hanging around with the twins, and she and Kai hung out with them some, in the park, mostly watching the boys show off their new developments in magic, but also just relaxing some. Everything always felt tense, when Haven first left, but it truly felt like that was all dissipating finally. Things were falling back into place. Not just in the guild overall, which seemed to not be displaced by the girl at all, but in their inner circle also.

"I bet she's on some super cool job," Ajax yawned that night as he crashed over at his aunt and uncle's place, sleeping in Haven's (Kai's) bed. "And maybe she won't come back, right away, but Ravan will, and he doesn't like me too much, I don't think, but you can ask him all about it, won't you, Marin? And tell me about it?"

"Yeah, of course, 'jax," she whispered though, in her bed, she only faced the wall. "I bet they are too."

"Haven's so cool," he laughed, mostly to himself, before whispering, "Sometimes I think about..."

"About what?"

"About… If Haven had your lacrima. How much stronger she'd be. Could you imagine it? Maybe then she'd have stuck around, since all the best slayers are here, in our guild. Do you think about that, Marin? If she had your lacrima?"

"Go to sleep, Ajax." She didn't even yawn or sound too tired then, but still insisted to him, "I have to get up early in the morning for work."

He only laid on his back though, staring up at the ceiling and counting the cracks. It was better anyways, he remembered, as Haven always told him. To gain your power on your own. Haven was better than Marin, who had the lacrima, through her own blood, sweat, and tears.

But still. Sometimes he thought about it.

She didn't any longer though. Haven. Dragon Slaying lacrimas were long in her past. Something greater waited for her, at the end of the gauntlet, and she could almost taste it.

"We're lost," Haven griped as she and Ravan took a break one day in the middle of the woods, him smoking and looking over some papers of some sort. Haven had a map that completely captured her focus. "We're fucking lost. Are you even listening?"

What good was it to do so? When she wouldn't even let him so much as glance at the map? Still, they were in a relatively good place, those past few days, and Ravan was actually feeling pretty good that day. Sometimes the scar down his side ached, from where he inserted his lacrima. Especially in rainy weather, which they were having then. But nothing could hurt him that day, it felt like, and if they could just hurry up and get there, to the next monster, he felt like things would only improve further.

"What are you reading?" Haven complained, finally, standing as she took to folding up the map once more. "Ravan?"

But instead of answering, he just held it out to her when she marched over to the rock he was perched on, snatching it some in her annoyance.

"What is this?"

Stubbing out his cigarette as he rose to his feet, he said, "Navi's book."

"What?"

"She sent Marin a rough draft once. Marin read it and when I asked for it, she gave it to me."

"Why?"

"Marin does whatever I ask."

"Why," Haven corrected as she shoved the collection of papers back at him, "did you ask for them?"

"Why not?"

They both stared at one another then, as if in some sort of challenge, but Haven broke first, huffing as he took to tugging his bandanna up around his jaw once more.

"I think I know how we got off track," she said as he went to replace the papers back with the collection of no doubt countless others in his bag. "And I think we're close. Well, I think we'll make it there soon, anyways. If you're all done reading..."

She left room for him to snap back at her, argue. Something. Haven lived for battle and would settle for verbal in absence of another, but he offered no chance at it then. Ravan could feel it though, he had since the second monster's defeat; he had his friend back. Haven had been weary before, and all stuck up on Locke (which she always seemed to be, honestly), but the longer they were away, the more her reserve was wearing off. If her declaration of revenge meant anything, it was that the real Haven, the one he wanted back, the one that went away when she was missing home and her boyfriend and safety, was still there. Just buried a bit was all.

But the Monster Gauntlet was dragging the competitive, asshole right back out into the open. He could tell time had changed her, but it had mostly just covered up the real her. Maybe Locke and her family were into that idea, but Ravan never wanted Haven to be different. Never thought that the one that stormed out of Magnolia needed to grow or become a better person. Never wanted her to be. Didn't think he'd like her any better that way.

She didn't need to change. She was fine the way she was. She was his best friend, the way she was before. Aggression and apathy were massive parts of what bound them together. This is who he wanted to travel around with. Who he was willing to follow on a vendetta mission. The real Haven. Ravan didn't want anything less.

By the time they finished the gauntlet, he knew she'd be whole again.

And he couldn't wait.

It was the third beast in the lineup that they were set to face next and as they enchanted the pedestal, it glowed a soft green light, giving a bit of ambiance to the overcast day. Both had an air of confidence this time around, given they'd both slayed one previously, but this was misplaced. What was summoned before them was far more powerful than the previous two and it was rather easy for them to get in over their heads quickly.

The monster before them was more traditional than the last. Towering over them, the beast was a fuzzy beast, covered head to toe in bright blue fur, with dark red eyes to match its snarled teeth. It felt much more like a typical monster, honestly, that yeah, maybe Haven and Ravan did underestimate it some.

Him and his armor and her with sparks bouncing from her body, their feeling of invincibility was raised some and when Ravan summoned a simple, familiar to Haven, sword from his arsenal, it really felt like some dumb monster plaguing some weak village taken from a job no one wanted up at the hall.

But this was far from the case.

The beast turned its head towards Ravan and, for just one moment, locked eyes with him. Haven wasn't even sure what happened, honestly. She barely had time to take note of what had happened before, right where Ravan stood, there was just...fire. Not shot from the beast, but rather summoned, it seemed, right beneath the man's feet, tall, bright orange blue flames engulfed where he'd been only moments before.

"Ravan." His name was a whisper on her lips as, through the flames, she couldn't even place him. As seconds ticked by and he didn't emerge, she knew something wasn't right. Her own eyes falling to beast, she felt fear pool in her stomach.

"Don't look him in the eyes!"

That was Ravan's voice, but it came from behind her and, when Haven glanced over her shoulder, she saw him then, not standing in the center of the flames, but rather perched on the branch of a tree that surrounded the clearing. The visor of his helmet was flipped down now though.

"How- Did you fucking teleport?"

"Pay attention," he yelled at her as, suddenly, Haven could feel the gaze of the monster turn towards her then. "And don't look him in the eyes!"

But of course, this felt like an impossible feat now, given it was a single command, and when she turned back to look at the beast, of course it occurred.

In a flash though, before the flames even had a chance to lick the soles of her boots, she darted away with a crack of lightning, depositing herself further back, close to the treeline and Ravan.

"I just need," he told her simply, "to get a few good hacks in. Slice him up."

Yeah, right. The monster was turning all about then, trying to place her, giving her a good chance to size him up once more. One swift uppercut to the jaw from the Thunder God's heir apparent and that would be the end of things. Ravan could tell from her silence just what she was thinking and, yeah, well, only if he didn't get his slices in first.

With a barrier between their eyes now, the beast seemed completely uninterested in Ravan and instead zeroed in on Haven easily. Rushing towards her the second it found her, the beast barred its sharp fangs and Haven focused on the gnashing of the teeth rather than the shiny ruby orbs that beckoned her sapphire.

As she was forced on the defensive, rushing around the large clearing, dodging slashes of claws and insistent gazes, Ravan merely stayed in his perch, observant and silent. Any lightning strike Haven hit the monster with seemed to have little affect and he knew she wasn't sending too strong of blasts its way, in an attempt to conserve her power, he also knew she was also struggling to get a good feel for her aim. Any time she turned to face the beast, it was jerking its head around, trying to force eye contact and Haven seemed to be battling against this with such difficulty that Ravan wondered if there was some sort of spell causing an unwitting desire.

"Haven!" He jumped back down, into the clearing once more, and in the hand not gripping the hilt of his sword, he held out his red bandanna. "Wrap this around your eyes."

"Are you stupid?" She was across the clearing then, having to jump out of the way of a swiping claw. "Then I can't see."

"What good is seeing doing you right now?"

"Uh, it keeps me from running into things. Moron."

"You're not going to be able to fight as long as you're tempted to look at him," Ravan warned as the beast turned it's head around then, to stare him down. From behind his visor, Ravan looked on with no fear. Holding his sword out with hand, he held the bandanna up with the other. "Last chance."

It shocked him a bit, in both senses of the word, as suddenly she zipped passed him, from where she was before, just a quick flicker of zigzagging electricity. As he closed his now empty fist, he leveled his blade towards the beast as it turned fully, noting Haven's evasion, and faced the pair of them head on once more.

"This is so," Ravan heard her complain from behind him as she tied the cloth around her eyes, "fucking gross."

"It's not like I drool into the damn thing."

"Might as well."

Ugh.

"Erza sent me away once, do you remember? For a month or two? To go train with one of her friends? Kagura."

"Yeah, I think I remember you getting a hard on you got for an old woman that one summer."

"She's not old. And shut up!" God. Still eyeing the beast from behind his shade, Ravan said, "She used to make me spar, like Erza, but blindfolded. She if you have to see your opponent to win a match, you haven't really won it."

"What?" Haven was in something of a fight stance then, but still jerking her head all about, as if trying to place where the monster was. Nowhere new though. Just on the other side of the clearing. It seemed, without irises to track, at a loss as well. "That doesn't make any-"

"She told me that you should be able to hear them. Each footsteps, every breath. Feel them. Each one. When they're close and when they're far. You have to be in tune to them and only them."

"Then...you can fucking fight with out seeing? Anything? At all?" she asked then, more annoyed by the statement than curious.

"Fuck no. It's why she kicked me back to Erza's early."

"Sure it wasn't because you had a massive hard on for-"

"I can't fight blindfolded," he said as, finally, the beast lowered its head and started to run towards them. "But you better know how to. Or learn fast."

His thundering gallop towards them was easy enough to feel and Ravan thrust forwards, with all his might, as the beast passed by. Haven fell to the ground, covering her head, fearful over being trampled. This didn't occur though and, as Ravan only glanced behind himself, to see just how badly he'd gotten the monster, he was pleased to see his blade had slashed a long, horizontal wound into one of his arms.

"He's not impervious," he muttered to himself as he reached down blindly to grab Haven by the collar and pull her back to his feet.

"What?" she complained, shoving blindly at him in retaliation. "Ravan-"

"I cut him. I- Shit."

"What?" And she was moving then, to lift up her blindfold, just a bit.

The beast had it's head thrown back then, but wasn't howling in pain. No, the cry it was making sounded far different. And, from the wound it was sporting, rather than pouring thick droplets of blood, blew flames jumped from the open wound, allowing them to imagine just what the monster was made up of.

Haven had never wished for Navi more.

As she was staring though, the beast dropped its head without warning and, with little effort, Haven's eyes were locked with his.

"Damn it, Haven," Ravan growled as he jumped out of the way and she had to zigzag, once more, across the clearing, both just narrowly missing the flames. "Would you keep that thing on?"

"Alright, damn," she tugged the bandanna snug around her eyes once more. "Do you have a plan?"

"Do you?"

Never. Gripping her fists tightly, she decided not to curse the darkness and instead focus on everything else. She'd only been seeing out of one eye for a good few months anyways. What was losing the other one? Darkness. That's what it was. But she just had to get passed that. She just had to focus.

"Can you cut him up more?"

"And release more fire?"

"If you get a big enough opening," she insisted as she turned all about, trying to pick up on where the beast had gotten off to, "and exposed all the flames inside… Just do it, Ravan."

He summoned a second blade as Haven sunk down some, apprehensive and defensive as she clearly was struggling with the no sight thing.

"The left," he finally grumbled to her as he took off, in a sprint, at the beast. The sight of this reignited the monster who let out another snarl before rushing at him as well. Ravan got slashed by beast, over his chest, tearing at his hoodie and shirt beneath, all to dig at his flesh, opposite his Fairy Tail emblem. With a sucking in of breath, he was glad to find the monster in a similar state, some feet from him then, a gaping wound pulsating blue flames across his chest.

"Ravan-"

"I'm alright."

"That's not what I'm asking."

He glared over at her before complaining, "He's in front of you."

But it wasn't focused on Haven. Aggravated by the man's attack, this time when it rushed at him, it wasn't to slash, but rather to grab at him. It only came up with air though as, rather than teleporting, like Haven had surmised, his lacrima had gifted him something close to phase magic, but perhaps a bit more powerful. It was far closer to some sort of invisibility spell or cloak.

The act ate the fuck out of his magic though.

As the beast stared at his empty hand, confused as to how he came up with air while the man he'd been pawing at also was no longer visible, Ravan squatted down as low as he could get before springing up, with all his force and might, holding both swords out as, dropping his invisibility, the blades were drawn roughly up into the body of the beast.

Fucking hell did it hurt his arms though. And he didn't jump that high, honestly, but as blue flame greeted him, Ravan merely withdrew a sword before slashing, wildly, into the belly, the heat burning his face before, with a loud roar, he was shoved away, going flying across the clearing from the force, but as he tumbled to the ground, he only called out to the blonde.

"Haven!"

She could hear it, the ragged breaths the monster was taking, feel the heat spewing from its assortment of cuts. It was time to put that fire out.

There was no spell that Ravan heard. As he sat up, he only watched her hold a hand up, summoning lightning like she typically might, but much more than usual. The already dark skies darkened much more and, as thunder boomed and there was a crack across the sky, into Haven's up stretched palm. As it struck hr hand though, the black clouds seemed to open up and the downpour began, the pouring rain drenching them all.

Before all the cuts and slices, the beast would have been little more than a disgusting mass of wet, matted fur, but now the water had more to run into than just tangled hairs. Instead, it spilled into the wounds Ravan had left littering its body, and Haven couldn't see it, but she could feel it, as the fabric over her eyes got heavy with water and her hair stuck to her face, the beast approaching her then, rushing towards her, but she held her ground, to be sure the storm didn't dissipate as lightning continued to jump from the sky into her body. As the water became too heavy for the bandanna, it began to droop and fall down her face, and Haven just knew what would be awaiting her.

The ruby orbs to force open her blues, but when she opened them, there was nothing before her other than a blinding rain storm and the surrounding thick forest. Eyes falling lower, she saw the furry heap of waterlogged mess that laid before her, the fire extinguished and its life force depleted.

Laughing, it was almost in shock as her arm fell from the sky, electricity still free flowing from it, and as the rain cleared, she felt Ravan at her side.

"Since when," he asked softly as he pulled his helmet off, dropping into to the now muddy ground, "can you summon rain?"

"I can't," she answered honestly as the pair only blinked at one another. "It was already in the air, the rain. Whatever. I just conjugated it. Brought it all together. Since when can you teleport?"

"I can't." He was just as honest as he looked away from her, down at the ground, watching the mass of gross hair dissipate slowly, back into nothingness, leaving a token in its wake. "My lacrima… You were right; I got more than just some more magical-"

"You're hurt."

He glanced down at the three long scratches down his chest before shrugging some, looking over her as well. "You're not?"

But Haven was moving then, closer to him, and as Ravan stiffened as this, she had no abandon in ghosting a hand over his chest, eyes locked on the bits of flesh that showed that weren't deep scratches.

"Your scarring goes all down your chest?"

"My body really fucking hated the lacrima, I guess."

They were eyeing one another, for a good beat, before she moved away first, to go collect their token. Glancing over the time on it, she flashed it to him before saying, "We need to get your wounds cleaned. Really clean them out. Somewhere that's not so filthy. We'll stay in a hotel room tonight. Closest town. Then we'll head out in the morning."

But he felt as if he'd said more than enough for the day and, just nodding instead of truly answering, Ravan held his hand out, for her to place his bandanna, which hung soaked through, around her neck now, but Haven only placed the token there instead.

"Three down," she told him simply as she went to retrieve her pack. "We're halfway there."

Setting after her, Ravan could merely nod because, yeah, they were.

The inn they stayed in was tiny and Haven was pretty broke, so it was no big deal, anyways, bunking together. They'd done it their entire lives. They'd dried out some, on their walk back to town, but Haven still made him strip out of his shredded hoodie and t-shirt, the second they were alone.

He'd walked with some gauze taped as best they could do, out in the woods, over the wound, but it was still bleeding heavily and Haven knew there was no way he was going to let anyone else look at it. Wouldn't risk it. It was late and they had to be out of there by dawn.

"Did you sew yourself back up?" she asked as she sat there, on her knees, beside him on the bed as the man only stretched out, shirtless a bit concerned, with the idea of her as his medic. "When you cut yourself open? For the lacrima?"

"I tried," he whispered softly and it was weird, to stare up at her in this way. Haven looked a mess still, from their battle, but he liked her that way. It felt more real. As she poured a solution from their supplies over the three slashes, he tried hard not to grimace. "I fucked up. The lacrima didn't take and I wasn't very good at it, I guess. The stitches had popped and I was laying on a heap, in the bathroom, when Kai found me."

"You just a suicidal bastard or what?"

"Untrusting."

She felt that with a nod.

Still, she was certain to add, "I would have never fucking cut myself up and tried to put something into my body like that."

"Not all of us have a stupid boyfriend waiting around for us to come to him with all our medical inquiries."

"Inquiries," she repeated softly and wondered if he knew about her eye or was just really good at reading things. "Did the lacrima give you what you wanted? Ravan?"

"And more."

"What if you'd died?"

He couldn't shrug, given his position, but still let out a soft sigh in response.

"I guess," he whispered after a few moments of thought, "you would have gotten back around, what? Five months after my funeral?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you went and saw Erza."

"Wasn't a secret."

"Why'd you do it?"

She was dabbing at his chest then, with a towel, getting it and her gloved hands covered in his blood.

"Everyone thinks," she complained softly, abandoning that idea quickly and moving instead to finally start threading the needle as she only motioned for him to hold the towel over his own wounds then, "that I'm some heartless bitch. I'm not. Erza meant...something to me, I guess. I was in town, so I went to see her. Is it really that big of a deal?"

He only watched as her lip curled a bit, in aggravation, over struggling so much with the thread.

"I don't think you're heartless," he assured her. When Haven glanced down at him, he was quick to add, "I do think you're a bitch, but-"

"Shut the fuck up." She finally got it then, the little thread through the needles little hole, and smiled to herself with accomplishment. "Should you really speak that way to the person who's about to be stabbing little holes in your flesh? Huh?"

"You would to your medic."

And the smile faded before, leaning over him now, she looked him in the eye as she reached to remove his hand and the towel from his wounds.

"Can we not," she asked him, "talk about Locke? For the rest of the time?"

"You're the one that always brings him up."

"Me?"

"You."

"Then I won't," she insisted. "And you don't either. Locke's not here and… Locke's not here."

He nodded some, because that was right.

He wasn't.

But he could feel the true Haven getting closer and closer to being so.

"Lay as still as possible," she whispered softly and her hair was tied back, so it didn't fall down to tickle his face, but he wondered what that would feel like. "I'm not, uh, the best at this."

"You really do good to instill my faith."

"If someone saying something gives you faith, then you're dumber than I thought." Then she paused. "Though I'm probably not gonna give you much to base it off of either." Then, with a shake of her head, she reminded, "Just has to hold long enough for us to finish the gauntlet. After that, you can go to a real doctor and get serious examined. We both can. Until then we get it or we die trying."

"We'll never die," he whispered as she finally moved to press the needle to his flesh. Staring up at the ceiling, he added, "Right?"

"I won't. But I don't go around cutting myself up and taking in foreign objects."

Haven called his blood gross, afterwards, and showered for a long time in the tiny adjoining bathroom. She was thankful for it though, given she'd probably look like some sort of murderer, in a communal one. She thought of this too as she decided they'd burn his clothes and anything else he'd stained through with blood out in the woods, the next time they camped out.

"'cause you'll be less suspicious then," he whispered as she went over to the other cot in the room, sitting on the edge of it as she stared over at him. "Right?"

But Haven wasn't talking to him, it seemed, following her shower. at least not in the moment. He found her gaze strange and was gonna gripe about her going out to get them something to eat when, suddenly, she stood up and came back over to the bed he was stretched out on. Ravan didn't move in the slightest as she sat on her knees beside him once more.

"Tell me," she asked softly, "about your lacrima. All of it. You don't teleport then… Just tell me everything. Please."

But he just shook his head. "I'll show you. All of it. Before this is all done. Just wait. I haven't even gone close to going full out yet."

Haven didn't like his answer, he could tell, but when she reached out, it was to rest a hand over his chest. Not near his wounds though, but rather closer to his side. She could see it then, clearly. The long scar down his side that rested there.

"I felt it. When you were...not teleporting, fine, whatever you were doing. I felt it. Stronger, even, than I do around you normally. The power… I wish I'd taken it for myself."

He felt possessive, for some reason, over the very idea, but didn't move as her thumb ghosted over the scar.

"You gonna cut it out of me or something?" he questioned, but she just kept staring down at him. "Haven?"

"I'm not going to let this one go," she vowed, promised, and even seemed more proprietorial, if it were possible, over something they didn't even posses yet. "Ravan. When we get to the end, if you try and double cross me-"

"I'm not going to. It's yours. All of it. I told you why I'm doing this." And he shoved up then, her hand slipping off his chest as he just hoped his stitches held. Looking her in the eyes, there, in bed, he said, "I want you to be have everything I have, Haven. More if you want it. I'm content. I just… I've been fucking fine without you. And I know you've been better without me. But fuck, don't you feel it? When we're together… I want you to get everything you've ever wanted. I'll help you get it. And then together, we can take whatever else we want. We'll go beat the shit out of those guys and anyone else who ever wronged you. That's fine with me. And then we can double back for anyone I fucking hate. We can do it all."

She smiled back at him, but it seemed off, and when she looked away, his fell some.

"I'm not insane, Haven," he insisted, recalling her words from weeks prior. "Is that not what the guild does? Your father? Erza? They do good things on the side, but everyone looks out for themselves. Exacts revenge. Don't they? They get their magic and we get nothing? Fuck it. Fuck them. I meant it. Your father never wanted us around one another. Why? Because they could all sense it. Everyone. We belong-"

"Just shut," she finally interrupted, "up, Ravan."

Lying back on the bed, he nodded some, happy to, as he finally felt it, after all those years, what her hair felt like when it fell over his face and maybe he was insane, because he never wanted to go back. Ever. To Magnolia. Or anywhere close.

It felt like everything was falling into place and there was nothing missing. His life had never felt so right and, maybe, the gauntlet was just over hyped and soon enough, they could be on their way, together, like it was meant to be. Finally.

Fucking finally.

Ravan felt so right that he forgot, if only for the night, that the majority of his life had always found a way to go wrong. So very wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

He laid awake more than he rested while Haven slept soundly and when, promptly an hour before sunrise, the blonde arose, Ravan merely feigned waking as well. Running a hand over his face, he kind of waited, for her to say something, anything, about the night before, but he was rewarded with only silence and, well, he wasn't too mad about this.

At all.

He did like silence.

Ravan was sore though, as he sat up, and recalled the tumble across the clearing he took from the monster the afternoon before. Still, even as he glanced down in the darkness at his bare chest, taking in the stitches there, he considered that, actually, he felt pretty damn good. Sore, but the best he'd ever woken up. In his mind, the night before was all the confirmation he needed as far as he and Haven went.

It was weird. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, the moment during their youth he'd thought of Haven as more than, well, by that point he definitely considered her a friend, but something changed about that eventually. It was gradual and unfamiliar for him, but he really only admitted it to himself around the time that she started dating stupid Locke.

Which was annoying for numerous reasons, really, that relationship. Mostly because Ravan was nearly certain, especially back then, that Haven wasn't even super into Locke. She was something with Locke, even now, he had to admit that, but he didn't think that it was that kind of interest. But Locke was trying to get with every girl they even remotely knew back then and Haven was just a causality of that. And they were such good friend (gross) they never rightly got around to breaking up over the fact that neither of them were right for one another and that was all.

That was it.

Then she fled town and they both worked themselves into thinking they were into some sort of long suffering romance love story shit or something, like that dumb shit on Erza's bookshelf back at home, and they weren't.

They just weren't.

Haven and Locke had warped everything about their relationship and only he, Ravan, could see the light. See it for what it was.

And after last night...maybe Haven did too, he was pretty sure, now that he'd removed her from the situation.

She and Locke didn't belong together. They were all wrong for one another. But him and Haven? They'd always thought and felt the exact same way, the exact same things, and held all the same ambitions, values, and goals. Locke didn't have that. That connection with her. What did they even have in common? Other than growing up together? Nothing. Haven wanted to make something of herself, separate from the entity of Fairy Tail. Locke just wanted to sit around in Magnolia for the rest of his life and work in said entity. How would that ever work? It wouldn't.

Haven didn't belong in Magnolia or in Fairy Tail. At all. And she'd never stay, even if she forced herself to try. Ravan wouldn't mind this because the only thing in Magnolia for him was Erza and Kai. And he had to leave them behind eventually. Grow up. Erza was still a bit banged up now, but he'd get some jewels together, doing odd jobs and shit. However it was Haven survived out there, on her own, they would do it together now, and he'd keep trying to help take care of Kai and Erza, send money back to them, until they were able to do it on their own. And he'd still go back. See them. He'd always have his emblem and consider himself a member of Fairy Tail.

But things would be different now.

Haven assured him of that.

Well…

Not exactly.

She kissed him, after shushing him, the night before, and Ravan was more than into it. He'd...thought about this a lot. Not so much in the past few years, as she was gone doing her own shit and he had his going on, but he'd kind of felt like, had Locke not been Haven's first boyfriend, then… They were just as close. In different ways. She and Ravan. It would have happened eventually.

And it would have ended up a lot better.

Because they were on the same page. Always. He'd have fucked off out of Magnolia along with her and…

And…

And she was kissing him, now, and whatever could have happened, before, didn't matter. It didn't.

When it progressed to more, Ravan was still into it and so was Haven and this was just everything. He wasn't the most experienced, fine, but he had been with someone before. A couple time. Sort of. And it was different because this was _Haven_ and they were both banged up a bit, but everything was coming together now, in his life.

He had his power, she'd have hers soon, and then they'd have their revenge.

Together.

Ravan always felt shit on. His whole life. From the second he arrived in Magnolia, he always felt as if the scourge of Fairy Tail was placed upon his back. Given his original task, fine, maybe it was kind of deserved, but it didn't matter how removed they got from those early days. He was always just half a mage, really, a swordsman, fine, but nothing more. He had a shit attitude and was lazy and was just never going to be anything. Not like the other kids. The better kids.

The slayer kids.

Where were Locke, Navi, and Haven now? One was tossed out of the guild, one wanted nothing to do with it, and one sucked shit like he always sucked shit because Locke was just an asshole.

The team that was promised fizzled out before they even got close to reaching their pinnacle.

But look at Ravan. He got the magic he wanted, the girl he wanted, and pretty soon, he could get any retaliation he or his girl wanted.

Locke was a safety blanket, that Haven ran to whenever she felt like shit or got scared or needed someone to save her. But Locke never did any of those things. It hadn't been her that got her out of deep shit in Crocus. It had been him. Ravan.

Not Locke.

He didn't save her. He never had. He didn't protect her. He couldn't. Locke was a loser and a waste of time. Everybody's time. He'd been handed every opportunity under the sun and what did he do with it? Nothing. What a fucking joke.

And anyways, now, Haven wouldn't need saving. She wouldn't ever feel unsafe. Not again. Never again. She'd find the same strength Ravan possessed and, combined with his, there would be nothing they'd ever have to fear again.

The only people that would feel fear was anyone who opposed them.

"I missed you," he admitted, softly, when things were kind of awkward and they were just blinking at one another. "A lot."

"Yeah," she agreed, but still shook her head some as she did so. "Same."

It was rare for him to feel so relieved and giddy, honestly, but he was happy. It felt stupid and childish. Like he was a boy again, instead of tentatively navigating the beginnings of his twenties. He couldn't be for certain, not truly, in that moment, how many times in the future he would wish to relive it, but he felt like quite a lot.

Haven mumbled something about sleep eventually and he started to protest because, actually, she'd never gone out and gotten them anything to eat, like she said she would, but he was also kind of afraid that if he did say something, then after she did, she'd go over to the other bed and that would ruin the whole thing, so if he just shut up, he decided, sucked it up, then he could stay in this bubble for a little while longer. Hold onto it. He didn't think it was fleeting, that it was going anywhere, but still, the first time was always special no matter the feat.

They'd slept beside one another before, obviously, over the years, out on jobs. Especially as young kids. But this was different. Intimate. Still awkward too, yeah. Haven slept facing away from him and that was fine because he wasn't really down for much else either, anyways, truly, and just being close to one another, feeling the warmth this brought, was enough of a punctuation for the moment.

But the hours slipped away and after sleeping hardly any, Haven was getting up and Ravan's culmination of a life was over. It was time to start enjoying the spoils of war. He felt like he was celebrating too early, considering they still had two monsters to go, but at the same time, when they were this in sync, how could they ever lose?

"I," Haven spoke, eventually, after returning to from the adjoining bathroom, "am going to go find us something to eat. Get the packs and shit ready."

He nodded along with her words, waiting, for there to be something more. Something real. Attached to them. When this didn't come and Haven was just turning, to leave the room, he did get out, "Uh, hey are we..."

She paused, at the door, glancing over her shoulder at him, "Are we what?"

Gonna talk about it. Any of it. He wasn't too big on it, really, words and all, but he felt like this called for some real words to be exchanged between them. Preferably mostly from Haven's mouth and not his. She always had something to say. About everything.

But not this, it seemed, as when he only shrugged, she rolled her eyes and left him there, in the dark. But with instructions.

Ravan found it best to focus on that and not too much on things that, really, were already confirmed. Weren't they?

Silence was his only friend, honestly, when the blonde wasn't' around. And even when she was. He could live with it.

When Haven returned, she threw a sack of fruit at his head that he wasn't completely sure where she got, but was grateful all the same.

"Two more," she told him and she was over at her bag, where they'd stashed away the tokens. Retrieving all three, she turned them each over in her palms. The first two were blank now, but the third still flashed in red a time to her. "Which one was it that Erza got all crossed up on? Ravan?"

"This one."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I am."

Nodding down at the tokens, Haven asked, "Do you know how...how it went down? Or whatever? How could Erza fucking lose? To anything?"

"She didn't."

"But-"

"She got all...fucked up from it, yeah, but it was because she was trying to save those people." Ravan was down on the floor, where he had been putting away all the medical stuff in his own pack, but now he was pulling an apple from the sack Haven had hit him squarely in the head with. Sitting back, he rubbed the apple on his jeans before, to Haven, saying, "They used that lacrima, I guess, that the guy was trying to give us. Back at the office. They got in contact with the guild. Fairy Tail. And requested someone, immediately, and Erza was nearby, in a close town, and your mother contacted her to help immediately. It was a pretty perilous situation, I guess, is what Erza told me. There were three of them, trying to take the beast on, and one of them was all fucked up and she was trying to protect them and beat the beast, but you know, it zeroes in, like that guy told us, on anyone there when it's activated. So… It was just a shit situation. She finished it off. The beast. But she was real beat up, after it. It wouldn't have been that way, like I told you, if she was going into it fresh. With someone else. Even on her own, probably."

This hung over them for a few minutes, in the silence of their motel room. He'd flicked on a light before, when Haven left, but just a lamp, and the room felt rather small then, smaller even than it had the night before.

"You really love her, don't you?"

He made a face over at Haven for the suggestion. "Shut up."

"I'm not making fun of you." For once. She replaced the tokens, back int the pocket of her bag, before saying, "You took care of her. When she was down."

"So what?"

Shrugging, Haven met his eyes when he gave them to her as she told him, "It's just not something I would have done. For anyone."

"She did it for me."

"Even still."

Ravan looked off then, back down at his apple, before retorting, "Guess the others are all right. You are a heartless bitch."

"Self-centered. It's not the same thing."

"What's the difference?"

"I would feel for Laxus or my mother. Deeply."

"Yeah right."

"But I'm not derailing my plans." She got to her feet then, to come over and snatch the sack. "For anyone."

It was to hide it then, his grin, as he took a bite of the apple as he knew then, with absolute certainty, Haven was completely back.

The train felt as dead as the towns they were passing through and he'd been around this part of Fiore a few times, but it seemed new to Haven as she sat beside him, going over the map more than anything else, while Ravan just glared out the window a bunch, like he would any other time. There were no words now, how it should be, between them. He glanced at her sometimes, still, though, maybe kind of thinking she'd have something to say, but no.

They had a few days on foot ahead of them, when the train deposited them as close as they would be getting to the fourth location. Still, with the trains help, they'd made good time. It was why he felt so comfortable in suggesting it, when she started talking about making camp when the darkness fell, that they head into town instead. As he tugged at his bandanna and Haven eyed him though, he only shrugged some.

"I bet," he told her, "that after the fourth on, we won't get much time. To the next. Do you think? Look at the how close it is to this one, compared to the others. This might be our last chance to really rest up."

"You're so spoiled. What? You can't rough it in the woods?"

"Just one more time."

Shaking her head, she insisted, "I'm low on jewels. I won't make it through-"

"I'll pay for the room." When this got suspicion thrown his way, he added, "You can owe me."

Haven didn't like to owe people. For anything.

"Hardly. All the things I've done for you over the years? I don't owe you anything. Ever."

He was fine with that though.

She was still obsessing though, over the maps and supplies and shit and it was kind of annoying, honestly, as he sat on the end of one of the beds, smoking and not really listening. It wasn't like she was talking to him, really, anyways. Haven wasn't one for plans and all, but when you were out on a job, she had a problem with handling her anticipation internally. It was as kinetic as it was electric. She was excited, maybe, for a normal person, but Haven burned all her excess energy out by bossing and complaining and bitching, so that's what she was doing, and he was just smoking, because that's what he did, when she got too hyped up on something.

It really did feel like old times.

"It's actually kind of gross to fucking smoke in an enclosed space, asshole." And she found a new thing to take her pent up energy out on. He was certain the map thanked him for the reprieve.

"My room," he pointed out. "Could always buy your own."

"Fuck you."

He blew more smoke, now just to piss her off. But Haven was only into her map again and that made him roll his eyes.

"Do you even know where they are?"

"Who?"

"Those guys. From Crocus." He refused to return it when her eyes fell on him. "Or the one. The main one. He's who you have beef with right? Do you know where he is?"

"No. He's a fucking treasure hunter. He could be anywhere."

"Then how will you find him?"

"I don't know, Ravan. What difference does it make?" Frowning some, she shrugged as she said, "We'll go back home and regroup after this."

"Regroup? There's two of us."

"It's not about the two of us. And it will just be for a second. I'll get in contact with some people, you can finish your ties up with the guild and Erza or whatever, and then… If you want to do this, for us to… Then we can go."

"You're going to go see Locke."

"Holy shit, Ravan, one day? You can't go one day?"

"Haven-"

"I told him," she complained, "that I would be right back. A few weeks. Days. I have to go back and explain."

"Explain what?"

"That it'll be longer. Until I can really come back. What do you think?"

His scars burned against his flesh and as he took a long drag, Ravan felt such an intense heat spread across him, like a sudden burst, that if they were younger, he'd probably have attacked her. Beat the shit out of her. And have it returned to him in kind.

They weren't kids anymore though.

"That's really fucked up, Haven. To do that."

Actually, she felt like it was the completely right thing to do. On multiple levels. Something in the past she might have neglected, but now? Now she understood the importance of it. Yeah, she'd skipped town again, but if she went back, smoothed things over, then she and Locke could get back to exchanging letters sometimes, maybe, and at least keep on a semi-regular schedule for contact. Then he wouldn't be so pissy at her, when she did return.

This past time had shown her just how important keeping up contact was.

She wasn't going to let it slip by again.

"No, it's not," she retorted. "I'm doing the right thing. The nice thing. I'm that now, by the way. A nice person."

"The hell you are."

"What is your issue?"

"Why," he asked as he gave her a glare back then, "would you tell him that? Huh? That you're coming back?"

"So he knows, Ravan. Did the lacrima make you stupid and suicidal or-"

"You're not going back, Haven."

"Of course I am."

"We just said, the other night, that-"

"That we get those guys from Crocus. Then your shit. And I'll probably have some other business to take care of. When I get it. My power." And her gaze shifted from then as she thought of it. She had no idea what it was, of course, but just the thought of having a deeper well to draw from, for her magic, was enough to excite the blonde. "Maybe I'll even go back to Bosco. Do you think? Fuck. _Fuck_. I swore I never would, but if I could, if I really get strong enough, if I could go back there and-"

"You have to stop telling him that you're coming back, Haven."

"Who?"

"Locke." He hated even speaking the other guy's name, honestly. It gave him a sick pit in his stomach, even just to think about him. It went beyond rivalry. That's what he and Haven had had, when they were kids; what he felt towards Locke was so much deeper. "You have to stop telling him that when you know it's not true."

"So the lacrima made you deaf too."

"Haven-"

"I just told you," she complained as she stood then, leaving her map behind, "that we're going back."

"Only to leave again."

"What are you? Locke's stupid negotiator? Why the fuck do you care what him and I do?"

His shock was bigger than hers though as he didn't stand, but didn't take another drag of his cigarette. Not this time.

"Why," he began as he wished for his bandanna then, or his helmet, anything, "are you acting like last night didn't happen?"

"That? That's what this is about?"

"Haven-"

"Don't be such a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

But she was laughing then, uncomfortably though, and even seemed kind of confused as she asked, "You're joking, right? Ravan, that was just… I mean, don't you… We were having a moment, right? And that was just all. What else is there to talk about?"

"You're sitting here talking about your stupid boyfriend-"

"You brought up Locke. Again. After I asked you not to."

"We slept together last night and you-"

"Locke won't care. Idiot. Is that what you're worried about?"

Worried wasn't exactly the word, no.

"We both do whatever we want." And Haven seemed less concerned, now that she'd diagnosed the problem. Per usual, her assessment was missing the mark a bit, but she was angling to get the case closed with little to no true discussion. "When we're not around one another. It's just a thing."

"You know it's fucking not."

"Uh, I'm in it, so I would know, not you."

"Locke's going to lose his fucking shit if he knows that you and I-"

"He doesn't know specifics, Ravan. That's the point." He could feel her agitation. "There's only two of us who know about that. Me and you. Who's going to tell him? Not me. Are you? No. So shut the fuck up."

But he couldn't know. He wanted to. He wanted to leave, actually. Or make her leave. Or something. Because he was losing his fucking mind, but he couldn't let this pass. No. If he was this pissed at a normal person, like he was with Haven currently, he'd probably just shut down. Shut up and sulk and stew and simmer. Chain smoke as he thought of all the horrible things that could befall them.

But Haven…

He had to argue with Haven. Fight her. Even if it was just verbally. She drew this out of him.

"So if Locke slept with Navi, you wouldn't care?"

"Did I say that? I said I wouldn't want to fucking know about it. Why are you so obsessed with this?" She crossed her arms then, shaking her head some as she said, "I thought we were on the same page."

"You're purposely being dense."

"And you're being an annoying chick." She came closer then, just to mock him. "Did you think that we were gonna date now, Ravan? Huh? Were you gonna give me your jacket and call me your girlfriend?"

"Shut up, Haven."

"Do you love me, Ravan? Is that it? Huh?"

"If you don't-"

"Will you hit me? 'cause I'll fuck you up. I don't care what power you have now." Still, she stopped approaching him then as she said, "I was just hyped up last night. After we...together we...beat the… Locke doesn't care. So what does it matter?"

"He would," Ravan kept up. "If he knew-"

"But he's not going to know. Alright? You know you're not going to say anything and neither am I. This is just part of being away. If we're both doing it, then no one's hurting anyone and-"

"You're fucked in the head."

"Shut up."

"You know that Locke isn't into this. At all. Not just about me either."

"Why do you care?"

Because...he wouldn't. If he were in Locke's position. If Locke never existed and he was given the same chances at Locke and, somehow, he and Haven did end up apart, he wouldn't' give a fuck what she did, when she wasn't around. He already didn't. Short of getting to bash some skulls, her past and the stories that went along with them were kind of just that to him; stories. He knew she felt much the same about him. What mattered was when they were together. Of course Haven felt that way because he felt that way and they were the same and that meant something.

Locke though wasn't like that.

At all.

Ravan was ribbing her, before, about him thinking her coming back meant something more than it did, but honestly, he was sure the other guy really did hope to one day be seriously and honestly committed to Haven. And that just wasn't going to happen. Ravan knew that. It was fucking obvious.

Again, to him and only him, rather than the two of them.

Idiots.

Haven and Locke were idiots and deserved their unhappiness.

Ravan felt like he was the best person to pass judgment in the scenario.

Instead of answering her, he just shook his head some, taking steps back and going to sit on the end of his bed again and start smoking. As Haven stood over him with a glare, he just stared straight ahead, refusing to give her any satisfaction in the act.

"That wasn't, like, your first time or something, was it?"

He couldn't tell if she was openly mocking, but it was Haven, so he bet on it.

"Of course not."

Definitely the third though.

"Good." And her laugh that time was more out of relief as her hard gaze fell through and leave it to Haven, to align his world just long enough to destroy it again. "It's just sex, Ravan."

"Is that what you tell Locke?"

"Why don't you just shut up about Locke already? He's not here."

"But you're going back to him."

"What? Did you think I was with you now or something?"

Ravan just shook his head. "So he just doesn't care that you...what? Sleep with every single guy you work with or-"

"Shut up."

"You do, don't you?"

"I don't."

She didn't.

But still, he snorted and this ticked her off all over again.

"What? Do I have to list them now? Is that what you want?"

Shrugging, he remarked, "Dunno. Do I have enough fingers to count them?"

"You're an ass. And talking a lot of shit for someone who, what was that? Slept with me? Because...no reason. But somehow you have moral high ground? Fuck you. Fuck this."

He wanted to yell after her, as she left, about how he hadn't just slept with her randomly. This was all a culmination, see, of all their years together, and if she would just fucking forget about Locke for one damn minute, then she would realize all the things he'd long known and...and...

He didn't get it. Her. Haven. Which was a really bad thing not to get considering he'd staked everything on the idea that they were the only people that got one another in the entire world. It really screwed with his head though, the idea that this was all...what? To her?

He wasn't stupid. He could tell something had been going on, back in Crocus, between her, those guys, and Locke, but other than that… Haven had such a warped sense of everything else, it shouldn't surprise him this was included, but…

Why Locke?

That's what he was hung up on the most. Fucking Locke. What made him so great and special and the one she had to worry about and it wasn't fair.

It wasn't.

Locke wasn't like them. The two of them. He was beneath them.

Why did Haven care so much about a guy beneath them?

She came back eventually, of course, but they didn't speak and when they fell asleep that night, it was in separate beds and whatever connection he'd mapped out the night before just didn't exist.

Their next few days of hiking had a pretty massive damper put over them, following all that. Haven was pissed at him and he was trying really hard not to be hurt by her and if he wanted silence before, he was getting it now. It was hard to believe that they were finally connecting again, were so synced up, just one massive battle ago.

But they had an even larger one before them then. Both in shit moods and not at all invested in the other now, good fortune was even less on their sides than it typically was and, as they placed their hands over the pedestal, the etchings glowed a vibrant orange and they couldn't look one another in the eyes, not once, but it was just as well. Soon enough, his visor divided them and she hardly glanced his way again anyways.

No.

She'd wanted to beat the shit out of something since their stupid conversation back in the hotel room and, well, she now had an awesome shot at it. The sooner they finished the stupid gauntlet, the better; Ravan could get fucked for all she cared now. Asshole.

But he wasn't nearly as focused. Ravan had managed to hold his tongue, since their argument, but that didn't mean he mind wasn't working overtime as he thought of all the dumb and stupid things that Haven and Locke did and you know, really, why did he even like Haven so much? When she was such a bitch? A real, heartless bitch. That's what she was. All along.

Stupid Haven.

And fucking Locke.

His mind wasn't in it. At all. As the beast was summoned before them.

It was just as formidable as every other and, were he thinking clearer, he might have considered what Erza felt. When she was before it. When she made it to the location to save those morons. What her thought process was. How she figured out its weakness. There was no one he thought more capable, able to perfectly deduce each and every situation presented before her, but fuck, all he could think about was…

Summing a blade, he held the hilt tightly in his hand as, from behind his visor, he found himself glancing more at Haven than the monster before him. He'd never been...hurt like that before. And he wasn't even sure if that's what it was. He'd had, at most, a day to build up an entire world in his head only for Haven to break it and yeah, that sucked, but it was a lot more than that.

Maybe he was jealous of Locke.

Maybe he always had been.

How could he fucking not be? Locke had a dad who was completely dedicated to training him, who was there for him, who was an asshole, fine, but at least he was around. Alive. And what did Locke do? Bitch about how much of a jerk he was to him. Locke was given a chance to learn from one of the roughest, toughest mages out there and what did he do? He chose a fucking support magic. At best. He was such a fucking loser too, but no one else seemed to think that.

Locke was sweet. That's what everyone always said about him. Sweet. He was a pushover. It wasn't fair. Locke could just open his mouth and say whatever he wanted, around anyone he wanted, because it was easy for him. It always had been. He'd grin with all his teeth and toss a hand behind his head and have a full conversation with anyone. Girls, even. That one bothered Ravan a lot, when they were growing up. Haven and Navi were one thing. They didn't count. Locke could talk to real girls, actual girls, and they didn't think that he was a huge dork, because he was, they actually were entertained by him, and who could be entertained by that absolute idiot? Locke was so infuriating. His ideas and opinions and thoughts and interests were all so basic and he was just...just…

Why did Haven have to like him so much? Huh? That was the worst part about Locke. He knew the other guy hated him for the same reason, but Ravan felt like it was pretty damn obvious why he and Haven got along so well. They had all the same interest. Ideals. Thoughts. She was more assertive than him, fine, and not as prone to shitting on herself, but most everything else aligned. She and Locke though…

In the entire world, why was it the only girl that Ravan was ever truly interested in that Locke decided to take? Huh? Locke got everything. Everything. He could never really fail, because his mother and father were there to make him feel better. He didn't have a little brother that relied on him, all that heavy shit that sat on Ravan's back, constantly, about leaving home. Didn't fear over the souls of his lost parents. Never seemed to doubt himself. Ever. He had everything that Ravan never would and yet he still had to take the one thing that he knew the other guy wanted.

He had to know.

Even if Ravan didn't know completely yet, Locke had to know.

As he stood there, adjusting his grip on the handle of his blade, Ravan couldn't even think of a single reason he truly liked Haven. At all. Yeah, they had stuff in common, but…

He didn't think of himself as a mean person. Haven was. Mean. She called herself nice now and seemed to have more reserve, but that was just age. At her core, she was still vindictive and manipulative. Angry. She felt his power, but he could feel Haven's anger. Not at him or even with Fairy Tail anymore, it seemed. Her family. No. It was something else. Bosco or those guys, maybe, she was hanging around in Crocus. Someone.

Maybe just always.

Haven was always going to be angry.

He wasn't. He could get that way, very easy, but a lot of time, in those years, Ravan felt more defeated than he felt invigorated. Or he did before his lacrima, at least. Now it boosted him and made him feel like he was above everybody else, every single one of them, but at the same time, this only served to depress him further.

It was lonely at the top.

That's why he thought it would be so great, to realign with Haven. For her to taste even just a bit of the power he wielded. If they could just team back up, somehow, someway, he wouldn't feel so...empty anymore.

That's what it was, really.

An emptiness.

When they were younger, he used to think all those things about Locke (well, other than the personable stuff) went the same for Haven. And didn't they? She didn't respect the fact that she had a mother and father who, yeah, could be harsh sometimes, but were there. Alive. She had a little sister who wanted nothing more than to please her and yet she spent years tormenting Marin for literally no reason other than...he couldn't think of one. Not a single one. Haven was worse than Locke, even. He was just a dope who didn't understand his blessings, but Haven was someone who not only acknowledged she'd gotten a silver spoon, but also enjoyed being able to spit it out when it didn't suit her. She was spoiled. A rotten kid. Teen. There was no redemption because she refused any attempt at it.

Haven didn't want to be redeemed.

Her parents were two of the most powerful mages in the world, her father had a team of bodyguards that were highly acclaimed, and her last name was the literal embodiment of legendary magic. She felt untouchable and flaunted it.

But she was nice to him.

Just one, really. Never before that moment, but that day out in the woods, when they were still stumbling into their teens, Haven sat with him, while he cried and considered just how much he really hated his life. She didn't say anything. Just sat there. Through it all.

He'd never had that. Not from another kid. Maybe even an adult. Erza took care of him, but she was prone to reprimanding any of his unfortunate qualities in those days. Other than her, most other adults in the guild hardly seemed to take notice of him.

No.

It was Haven that was kind to him in his weakest moment and it didn't make sense. There was literal blood in the water and she just let him be. He'd never seen her be so merciful before. Especially in regards to him.

Not to say she was always so kind. That they didn't have bad days after that. Because they did. But never like they had before. When they fought, it wasn't with the intention of injuring one another. They trained together, seriously, then, and she was still friends with Locke and Navi more than him, in the early days, but he felt like this became less true, less real, as time went on.

Haven became his only friend.

Because she was the only one that ever gave him a chance. A second chance. Everyone else other than his brother and Erza had long written him off, but Haven, who had more reason to do so than anyone, didn't.

Yeah, she was still spoiled. And yes, she was still a jerk. But she'd helped him when no one else could.

He didn't understand it. Even all those years out. He really did hate Haven. Deep down. Even now. He was pretty sure. Everything she was, even if the outputs were similar to his, were rooted in all the things he hated. So why was it that he cared so much about her?

"Fuck, Ravan, what are you doing?"

He was frozen, as he had been, but it hadn't mattered. The monster had keyed in on Haven immediately. This was by design. She wasn't letting up. Relentless. As Ravan's eyes only followed them around the clearing, his feet felt like cement and he that pit in his stomach was sprouting into something then. It felt like puke.

Haven didn't feel much better. This beast was clearly a mark above the others and almost immediately, she couldn't exactly tell why Erza had trouble with it, but could figure why someone else might.

She couldn't figure out it's trick. At all. It had no spikes or horns. Scales or fur. Just a ripped, looming beast with a haunting gaze and massive hands that he kept trying to slam down over her skull, cracking it (if not her entire being) wide open. Haven zipped around him, throwing down blows and crackling strikes of lightning when she could, but nothing seemed to break the beast.

He didn't seem to be offering up a weakness either.

And Ravan just fucking stood there. Like the useless idiot he was. God. She thought they were on the same page, it always felt like they were, anyways, but now he was going to get himself all hung up on something as dumb as sex.

Guys were so fucking worthless.

Well, to her, everyone was who wasn't her.

You could only ever rely on yourself.

It was horrific though, when it finally played its true hand. She'd stumbled a bit, after zagging away from a fist, and when the beast opened its mouth, she only raised her fist to try and shoot some lightning in there, before it got it's growl or yowl or whatever the fuck it was about to do out.

But the bolt of lightning died, before it even so much as graced the monster's bright red tongue. Not due to anything sort of magic on it's part, but rather, as it let out his howl, Haven's knees buckled and she fell fully then, to the ground, and her magic ceased as her concentration was broken.

She felt herself scream though she couldn't hear it. Just feel it as his throat burned and she couldn't even brace herself, against the ground, as her hands involuntarily came up to cover her ears and was she bleeding from them? Her ears? She felt like she was.

Ravan could hear nothing from their target though, across the clearing, and he couldn't figure out exactly what she was doing or what had happened. Haven was screaming like something was ripping her apart, but she looked unharmed as the monster stood over her, mouth opened for what Ravan felt was pure silence.

"H-Haven," he found himself calling over then, finally, as he took a step towards her,. "What are you- Hey! Haven!"

It was too late though, even as Ravan was rushing then, as she was still there, huddled over, as the beast brought it's fist down once more over the blonde. Ravan thought he'd just seen his friend get obliterated as, with a sharp intake of breath, he found himself shutting his eyes and turning his head even, awaiting the inevitable.

Haven's screams stopped though, of course, and as he peeked an eye open, he was expected to be faced with the grim reality of what they were dealing with. But what he found was quite different. Haven was still there, huddled on the ground, panting heavily, but all about her was some sort of electrified force field, like half a bubble, lightning jumping not from her body, but rather creating some sort of barrier around her.

He couldn't be for certain, but he was sure this was what the monster's fist met as now, with its mouth shut, it stood before Haven, taking in ragged breaths as the offending fist, held at it's side, seemed almost seared while a rotten smell filled the air about them.

Haven didn't feel so great though, down on the ground. It had been reactionary, just as involuntary as the things the beast's high pitched wails were doing to her, but hadn't save her completely. The force of the fist coming down was so much that, though the barrier stopped her from being completely crushed, she felt it through the barrier and as she was pressed into the ground, Haven coughed up blood and it was such a shit situation.

"Fuck," she whispered to herself as, dropping the barrier, she raised her eyes to stare up into the dark gaze of the monster before her. It had recovered from it's shock, however, as it opened it's mouth again, the same from before left it, causing Haven's eyes to well with tears as her ears were assaulted once more.

The thing was completely ignoring him. That's what Ravan noted. But why? He thought back to everything that Erza had told him about her encounter with the monster. She'd told him it was mostly disinterested in her as well, before it delivered that knockout blow, but he hadn't thought that was relevant before. Of course it ignored Erza. She wasn't a part of the gauntlet. It was only once she began to interfere too much that she'd been attacked.

But why would it choose Haven over him? They'd both stood over the pedestal. Said the chant just the same.

Thinking perhaps it was just because she'd engaged with it, Ravan ran at it then, full speed, weapon drawn and prepared to do, really, anything. He wanted to see how simple it was, to slice into the beast. What would come of that. It felt far too simplistic for the situation at hand, but he had to do something.

Haven's barrier held when the first struck it again, but still, she felt quite a bit of the force regardless and was completely disjointed now. She saw him though, out of the corner of her eye, as Ravan ran at the beast. It had been expected the sting of her electricity this time and hadn't stopped it's cries, but when Ravan's sword pierced it's leg, this changed. No longer an overpowering cry, it wailed some in pain before moving to knock Ravan away from it. But he phased through this as he slashed his sword along the passing arm instead.

He couldn't phase again, not so soon, and knowing he'd only get swat at again, Ravan was quick to jump back, rushing away, hoping to draw the attention of the beast onto him and off the woman. At least until she got her bearings once more.

But this didn't occur.

Even as Ravan yelled out at it, the second he was outside of attack range, the monster singled back in on Haven. It made no sense. Was this the trick? Targeting only one person? How had it chosen? Was there something about Haven that made her better to take out first?

What if…

What if he were going after the weaker one of them? He knew Haven wouldn't agree to this assessment, but it would align, anyways, with what Erza had told him happened, during her rescue request. She didn't recall a lot, following smashing her head pretty hard, but she did tell him about how relentlessly it tried to end the life of one of the three that had gone out on the job. That guy was pretty fucked up too, Ravan recalled, worse than Erza. He was the medic, for the group, and the idea had been for him to heal the other two. He'd hang back, usually, to allow for this. A solid plan.

Until that beast.

It wasn't going to stop going after Haven. And she was already in a bad way, pretty quickly. Ravan could feel it again, in his stomach.

No one else was there. It was just him and Haven. Like it always should have been. She was in trouble again because she was always in trouble because Haven was trouble and now it was up to him. To save her.

Locke couldn't do it.

No one could do it.

Except for him.

There were definitely better ways to go about it. Erza had told him before, about the sword she used to end the monster. He could have gone this route. It would have taken a lot more damage and more time and skill, but he could have done it. He should have done it, probably. But Ravan had teased Haven over the idea of it for the entire journey and, well…

He stronger than her. Than all of them. And if anyone should be jealous over something, it should be all of them over him. He was the fucking one with the lacrima. Not Haven. Not her dumb boyfriend. He was better than them.

He was always going to be better than them.

Ravan had only cast the spell a few times. Once not soon after he'd gotten his lacrima. It had felt imprinted on him, the words replaying in his mind until he tried it, just to see. It wiped him so entirely that he feared it from then on. Only twice on two other jobs had he felt the needed to exhibit it.

This wasn't one of those times. Not yet. He wasn't desperate. Haven might have been, she was looking pretty rough, but he could have withstood.

But you don't impress by playing it safe.

It was exhilarating, all the same, each and every time he did it. He felt himself grin as all of his magic poured from his body and flowed through his crossed arms as his only trump card presented itself. A powerful blast of blue tinted magic jumped across the clearing, striking the monster directly.

As Haven watched, the blue hued light didn't pass through the beast, but rather seemed to engulf it completely. It continued to turn brighter as well, shedding the blue for a brilliant white and, as she shut her eyes for fear of being blinded, the blonde dropped her force field. As the light she was hiding out from behind her eyelids faded, she blinked her eyes open slowly.

He still stood there, Ravan did, across the clearing. But he was wavering, worse than she even as Haven slowly pushed to her feet, more interested in the vaporization of the monster that had been in front of them moments before. In it's place now sat a golden token.

Unable to hold himself up, Ravan stumbled first, catching him once, twice, and then he fell flat on his face. He must have passed out.

It was weird each time. He felt like he had all the magic in the world, but for that spell, even with him being as close to full as ever that day, in the clearing, every ounce of it was expelled to pull it off. He was empty, weak, and felt bruised all over. Even his eyelids felt heavy as he blinked them open.

They weren't in the clearing any longer.

The day was later, edging on the night, and that was a huge jump from where they'd been before. He was laid out on his pack, a bit haphazardly, and it didn't take much craning of his neck to see Haven sitting on the other side of the fire, the map spread before her though she seemed more focused wrapping some gauze around her left arm.

"Wha'?" was all he got out. It hurt to talk. The sound in the otherwise still twilight was enough to get Haven to glance at him.

But the hardness was gone from the days past and she smiled, maybe, just a bit. The angle he was laying was fucking with his head.

"Do you know how fucking heavy you are? Pass out on me again and I leave you behind."

"Haven."

"Ravan," she mimicked back in a weak voice and, for awhile, that's all there was.

Eventually, when she was finished with what she was doing, the woman rose to her feet and came over to him. It was bearing his water bottle though and, falling to her knees beside him, she held it to his lips. Ravan made a face at the gesture, wincing some as he snatched it away from her.

"If I could go back in time," she told him softly, "and do literally anything at all, I'd fucking bash your brains in for thinking about taking my lacrima. Then I would keep it for myself."

"It's not yours."

"It should have been." She sounded bitter. He knew the feeling. Still, shaking herhead, she said, "If you have that in your back pocket, Ravan, why the fuck do you even use your dumb swords and shit? I mean-"

"I can't control it."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't… It's always like that."

"Full blast?" she offered. When he nodded around his water bottle, she only shrugged. "I'd use it all the time then. Especially then."

This sat over them for awhile as he sipped at water and Haven fell back onto her butt, at his side, silent. Eventually, she fished the token out from her pocket and flashed him the time laid upon it.

"It's like you said," she told him as a heavy gaze fell over her eyes. "Not much time."

But Ravan hardly glanced at it. Just stayed silent.

"I thought you were so stupid," she went on. "Down in the library. I still think you are. Erza would probably reflect the shit out of that attack, you know. Destroy you. Natsu could eat it, I bet. And Laxus… Fuck Laxus. If you kill him, do you get to be the Master? Is that how it works? Whatever. But you're right. We can do this. I can do this. I'm going to do this."

When still he said nothing, Haven's gaze fell back down to the man's sunken face.

"I'm always going to go back to Locke, Ravan. Maybe I'm selfish towards him because of that. Maybe I'm a shitty person for not making that clear to you. Whatever. But it's just how things are." Still, she wasn't speaking out of anger any longer. Just softly. Not like herself. Ravan found it best to stare up at the sky. "It was just...nice to be around you again. That's all. Not everything has to be so fucking serious all the time. You know? I went back home for, like, what? Two days? Was it three? And it was smothering. Locke was talking about me staying and my mother and aunts and uncles were all… And your brother kept…

"I like you, Ravan, because it's not that way. Out here. It's kind of like being back at home. But without the weight of it. But it's not… If we go around for awhile, together, doing whatever the fuck we want, after this, that'll be great. Just like it was great with every other person I've hung around. You know? These past few years, I've done whatever with a lot of different people. You don't know the feeling. It's freedom. But it all ends, Ravan. Eventually shit gets serious and someone doesn't do what they're supposed to and people… In guilds, you know, you always support one another, no matter what, but it's not that way out here. Not for me at least. You either leave on good terms and that sucks, 'cause you don't really hate one another yet, or you stick around too long and then you do and that's just it. How it is. So if you don't want to go with me, after all this, then-"

"I do." He shoved up some, on his elbows, so they could stare at one another truly. "Haven, I swear. Whatever, you know? Fuck it. We'll never fall apart. Like that. I'll go back home eventually, before it comes to that, or we'll just go our own ways again or… I don't like you with Locke. I think he's an ass. And you do too."

"Ravan-"

"But that's your business. I think it's shitty, on your part, yeah, but all the things you do are shitty."

"Now who's being an ass?"

"But Haven, we have to go back home."

She grinned then, finally, really. "Yeah. I know. You understand then? I'll talk to Locke and you can talk to Erza and then-"

"No, Haven, now. We have to go back home now." He shook his head as his body still felt quite weak and, falling back into his pack with a slight grunt. "Or somewhere else. Other than this. We can get started on those guys from Crocus if you-"

"What do you mean? The gauntlet-"

"Haven, I won't.. I fucked up, okay?" The words were bitter, but true. "The time we have to get to the next place, I… I won't get much of my magic by then. Not even a full three days. I'm empty. Completely. And you're-"

"Ravan, shut up. No. You-"

"We have to...stop." When he caught how dark her face was becoming, he was quick to add, "But it's okay, right? You saw it, didn't you? Everything? My power? I can get you what you want. You wanted a spell or something, right? Let's go and get it. Together. But the gauntlet… We can't finish it. Not right now. I-"

"Shut up."

"Haven- Hey!"

She shoved him back down that time, when he tried to sit up. Right over his stitches. As he sucked in a breath with a glare, she stood back up, glaring down at him heavily.

"Rest," she ordered. "As much as you can. In the morning, we're heading out to the next-"

"Haven, I'm fucking telling you-"

"No. I'm finishing this. We're fucking finishing this."

"Haven," he insisted and he hated it, what was coming out of his mouth, "I can't. Okay? I'm sorry. I can't...save you. On the last one. I don't have enough magic-"

"I don't fucking need you, Ravan. You didn't save me. You-"

"You were getting your ass kicked by the fourth monster. Look, you limping! And your arms fucked up. And you're-"

"I'm finishing this."

"Haven-"

"My magic is waiting for me, Ravan."

"You're not stupid." He didn't think she ever had been. Just hardheaded. Extremely. But even she could see where this was going. "Haven, we've only been able to get this far together. There's no more together. I'm serious. I… We can do it again. Another time. We will do it again. Now that we understand everything, we-"

"So you get yours, right? Your lacrima? While I get nothing?" The glint in her eye changed then. "My lacrima. You stole something from me, Ravan, and it's time to pay me back. I owe you? You owe me. You either fucking help me get it back or, you know what? No. Stay here, Ravan, I'll do it alone. So I can be sure _I _get whatever's waiting. You're different, you know? Marin told me. In the letters. That you were. I could tell you were. In Crocus. When we were in the book room. On this stupid trip. But no, I really see now. You got my lacrima and think you're hot shit. You're not. You never will be. Fuck you. I'm going to go and get more powerful than you ever-"

"I want you to be!" He was shoving up again and it burned, his chest did, as he glared at her. "Fuck, Haven, I don't give a shit about this damn thing. I wanted to...I wanted…. I wanted you to come back. For us to be together. And now we are. I beat the stupid monster that Erza had trouble with and, eventually, I'll come back and finish off the last one. But right now, we're together. Me and you are together. Again. This is what Incidio should have been. I'm sorry I took your shit, okay? But it's mine now. We'll get you something else. And then we'll come back and you can have whatever's at the end of the gauntlet too. But right now… If we go on… We can't do it. Like this. I was wrong. Okay? I'm sorry, Haven."

But she didn't hear him. He was certain of that. She heard nothing of what he said. It all meant nothing.

"I'm leaving in the morning, Ravan." She left him too, turning to leave him alone at the campfire. "For the final monster. We do this together or I do it alone."

"You can't. Haven, you can't." He was too weak to chase after her. Not like it would have made a difference. "I'm serious."

But he got the bird in reply and, well, she wasn't going anywhere at the moment. That much was sure. She'd left all her shit around the fire and, well, he kind of stumbled over to her bag, riffling through it to pull the only thing out that could help him now.

Kai and Marin were actually very busy, in the Scarlet household, as the former tried very hard to find a specific pair of jeans in his pile of maybe clean, maybe dirty laundry while Marin mostly sat around to keep watch on the time. He was going out that night, on a date, and since she had the evening free, she was going to help him get ready.

If he ever found his stupid jeans.

"Why does it have to be that pair?"

"I like them the best."

"Uh-huh."

"And...well...they're the ones that my wallet are in."

"Kai-"

"Mistakes were made, Marin, fine, but at least they haven't gone through the wash yet. Or would it be better if they had?"

She was seated on his bottom bunk, watching the other teen try in vain to locate his billfold, when she heard the soft dinging from the other room.

"Do you hear that?"

"The sound of you not helping me look?"

"It's Erza's communication lacrima." Rising to her feet, Marin only stepped over Kai and his horde of clothes, rushing right out of the room. "And she's out training. Ooh, should we answer it? What if it's important? But is that an invasion of- Kai, you should at least consider these things first."

No way.

Jumping right up, he headed into Erza's room with no fear that day, marching right over to her desk in the corner and taking a seat. She had papers and maps and books spread all about, but in the corner was a communication lacrima, set upon a stand, and the teen merely drug it right over in front of him.

"Ravan! Hey! Oh, man, have you called to give us the good news?"

"Kai," Marin complained as, after some hesitance, she came to peer over his shoulder. At the sight of the other guy, she did smile some, "Hi, Rav-"

"Where," he cut them off without greeting, "is Erza?"

"Out," Marin answered though Kai was only peering closer at the crystal before them.

"You look rough," he offered his brother simply. "An eventful evening? Huh? Got any big plans?"

"What? Kai, I need Erza. Where is she?"

"W-Well...I dunno."

"You don't," Ravan griped back at him and even though he was all the way...wherever he was, Kai still tensed up, as if expected some sort of brotherly retaliation, "know."

"Yeah. I don't."

"How? Huh? I thought I told you-"

"She's training," the younger guy informed him. "Now. She just started."

"Training for what?"

"I mean, I guess whatever Erza normally does."

Save all their asses, Kai was certain. He even smiled at the thought.

"What's wrong, Ravan?" Marin asked, still leaning over Kai's shoulder. "Is Haven with you? Is she alright?"

On his end of things, Ravan had no idea where she was, but wanted off that lacrima before she got back.

Instead of answering, he told them simply, "We're on the Monster Gauntlet."

"Marriage?"

"What?"

"Kai," Marin groaned. Then something clicked. "The Monster- Is that the thing that Erza-"

"Yeah," Ravan agreed with a nod. As she started to raise some concerns though, he only said, "I don't have time to explain, but your sister… Look, she's going to go on, to the final monster and I don't think… I was going ot ask Erza to send someone. To help. Because Havens' going to get her ass kicked."

"But...you're there." Kai frowned. "Aren't you?"

"I am too," he insisted. "It's...complicated, but can ask her to send Natsu or Gray or someone that can help."

"Locke," Kai suggested, but his brother's concern transformed to something much more benevolent then.

"No." And he meant it. "Kai, you cannot tell Locke about this. Do you hear me? Or the Master. Have Erza send one of her dumb friends. That should be enough. Alright? I- Shit. Haven's coming back. Just do as I say. Understood?"

Before the lacrima cut, Ravan told them where they were and where they were headed, but then he seemed to hear something nearby and it was just Kai and Marin, staring at their reflections in the orb.

"I'm telling Locke." Marin stood straight once more. "And Dad."

"What?" Kai glared up at her before rising from his seat. "Marin, you can't. I just promised Ravan that I-"

"You can promise whatever you want. I didn't promise anything."

"Marin-"

"That thing they're on is no joke, Kai. You know that. I… I have to tell my parents. And Locke."

"Natsu and Gray-"

"Are both out on jobs."

"But-"

"They could die, Kai." She was turning from him then, to leave the room. "Are you coming?"

He didn't want to. He wanted to find Erza. She would know what to do. But this turned out fine anyways as, when they arrived at the hall, he found after her training the woman had headed there, where she sat a table surrounded by all her friends and it was such a great moment and all.

Kai hated that he had to go ruin it.

"Uh, Erza?" He came to stand behind her, tapping her on the shoulder. As she glanced over it at him, he only said, "Ravan's, uh, in some trouble. Again."

But Marin didn't stop off with him to deal with all that. No. She saw her father seated with Freed, grumbling at her mother as she stood by, on duty for once, clearly annoyed by his complaints. As she came rushing over though, both her parents and the rune mage immediately turned their attention to her.

"What's wrong? Sweetheart?" Mira frowned some at how panicked she looked. "Is everything-"

"Haven," she told them, "went with Ravan on the gauntlet. That Erza got hurt on. And Ravan was on the lacrima, at Erza's house, talking about how Haven's going to go on to the next monster even though they can't, because they're too beat up or something, and he's afraid she's going to get hurt or something, and you have to do something, Dad. Please. Ravan wouldn't ask for help unless he really meant it."

They all three were silent for a moment, Freed looking to Laxus while the man himself only began to scowl, just from his daughter's words. Mirajane though just set the tray in her hands down then, on the table.

"I'll go," she told them all. This got some blinks, but before anyone could say anything, she said, "I'll go get them. Both of them. And-"

"Demon-"

"No, Laxus, I-"

"You know I'm fucking doing it, so knock it off, alright?"

But at a table not too far away, Locke had been enjoying the spoils of war only moments ago. Well, he'd returned from his job super early and his father was still around, with Lily, and they were drinking and having a good time. Locke was feeling more like himself, only moments before, with thoughts of S-Class rattling around in his head, but that was all zapped right out as he overheard just what was going down at the Master's table.

"Locke." Gajeel gulped down the food he'd shoved in his mouth as he saw his son rise. "Don't go over there."

"The Master will deal with it," Lily agreed. "There is nothing-"

"I'm going too. Master."

Laxus snorted at the sight of him, rushing right over. He couldn't help it as, rather than continuing to glare at his wife, he took the time out to rebuke the man. "The fuck did we just talk about, Locke? The other day? Huh?"

But he only shook his head and didn't tremble in the slightest as he stood beside Marin, insisting, "If Haven's in trouble, I have to go. I told her I would."

"So you fucking knew about-"

"No. I didn't. I wouldn't have let her go if I did."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Laxus knew he had to keep his aggression in check. He needed have it all when he knocked Haven and Ravan's heads together. Fucking idiots. He was looking past Locke then as someone else approached. "You got something to fuckin' say to me, Erza? Huh? Once again, your stupid boy-"

"They're adults. Who make adult decisions." Erza was over at the table then, Kai beside her. Freed was the last one seated at it though and, raising, he offered his seat to the woman, but she merely shook her head as she bowed her head to her master. "But I do agree. Having faced the fourth beast, I impressed with their resolve, but if Ravan is as bad off as Kai seems to think, it would be best if someone headed that way. I am certain they will be calling for help soon enough."

Snorting, the slayer looked off as he said, "See how impressed you are when he's flat on his ass. Out of my guild. He-"

"B-But Master, Ravan didn't do anything wrong!" Kai looked all about, at the others, to see if anyone else would support his claim. Only Erza seemed to nod. "The gauntlet has nothing to do with the guild. So he didn't do anything wrong at all! They're just stuck, is all, and they need help-"

"Listen to me, you little shit-"

"Laxus." Mirajane gave him a look. "Enough."

"I told," the man went on regardless, "your shitty brother to leave my daughters the fuck alone. That was a direct fucking order from his master. And guess what, Kai? I'll drop anyone I fucking want from this damn planet, much less my own guild. Remember that."

Marin shoving Locke out of the way then, to go grab Kai's arm and drag him away though she did, over her shoulder, frown at her father. Like he was the monster or something. Whatever. He had more important things to worry about.

"Do you know the location? Erza? From your time dealing with the quest?" Freed wanted to move thing right along. She thought for a moment before shrugging some.

"If you bring me a map, I will give you the best location as to how I remember it. Kai mentioned where they are right now and it is as I recall, for the fourth monster, as well as where he told me they were headed as the last location. I'm not well versed in much else, however. I can mark it on a map for you, if you'd like."

As the rune mage nodded, Laxus finally addressed his wife once more as he said, "Look, I'm just going to get them, alright? Mira? There's no reason for you to go. Freed, me, the two of them; we'll get that stupid monster taken care of."

"I want Haven to come back."

"Mira-"

"I want," she insisted then to him, "her to come back home. Laxus. Don't let her run off. I mean it."

"I can't control what she does, Mira, after-"

"Promise me."

"Mira-"

"We'll bring her back." Locke held his head high as he got a glare from his Master and Mirajane only gave him something of a soft smile. "Promise."


	8. Chapter 8

He imagined that the specific night existed, if it existed at all, on the very fringes of their memories. Locke and Haven. But it still felt recent to Laxus, over a decade and then some later as he rode on the night train out of Magnolia. He was miserable, as he always was what with his motion sickness and all, but at the same time, he couldn't risk using his lightning body magic to get there. The distance was great enough that he was fearful of zapping too much of his magic and then, well, he didn't think the final monster was anything he couldn't take, especially with so many people being there, but if he used that spell, there wouldn't be a lot of people there.

It'd just be him, Haven, and Ravan.

And he'd bee too tempted to kill them himself to get anything actually done.

No.

And maybe the problem was that part of Laxus didn't want to get there too early. To stop them. He kind of wanted them to have already started the monster. To have learned something of a lesson. He knew it was a pipe dream and neither ever seemed to take any of the wisdom imparted on them to heart, but still. If they got a bit fucked up, maybe scared, then...then maybe it would be easier to get them both to just come back home.

Or at least Haven.

Laxus still wasn't sure if he'd just strip Ravan of his guild marking right then and there.

Not to mention, they'd somehow ended up with more than just he, Freed, and Locke on the trip. Elfman was at the train station, arriving back from a job of his own, and when he heard what they were headed to do, he insisted he needed to go as well.

"It's time to show Haven what it means," he insisted with a frown. "To be a real man."

And, well, Laxus didn't necessarily hate the other guy as he much as he had in years past, but if he weren't his brother-in-law, he certainly would have made sure he got left behind.

Then, of course, Locke had his own baggage in the whole thing.

As they left the hall for the station, Gajeel and Pantherlily were quick to run after Locke and insist that they needed to come too.

"Why?" Locke had asked, but Gajeel only clapped him on the shoulder.

"S-Class is comin' up," he muttered softly, hoping Laxus didn't overhear. "And if I go out there, knock out this monster for Mr. Doesn't Train Anymore and Just Drinks All Day, save his stupid daughter, then he has to put me on the list."

"Dad, I really don't think-"

"A sound plan, Gajeel," Lily agreed and, well, Locke didn't care none. If they accompanied.

And Laxus seemed to just ignore the fact it was happening.

On the train, Freed sat beside the man, but he only hunkered down in his seat, glaring out the window as the world spun about him. He could hear Locke and Pantherlily, snickering and laughing at the similar reaction Gajeel was having, and maybe that's what spurred it on. His memory. It replayed a few times, in vivid detail, as he tried to keep down the beers he'd had through out the day by focusing on something else. It happened to be the something else.

The kids were still young, super young. Marin was a baby, he recalled, and was actually already snuggled up in her crib for the night while Haven and Locke sat rather impatiently around in the living room, waiting for the man to return with the supplies for their pillow fort. Haven had just returned from the Redfox's the other day after having a great time spending the night and, well, Laxus was not one to be outdone.

Until the coughing fits he got in those days started up and they'd spent most of the night playing simple, quiet games. Not to mention they couldn't disturb Marin.

Still, Laxus made the best of the worst and they were just all so much more hopeful in those days. Haven was still a cute (but prone to brattiness) nearly four year old and Locke wasn't a toddler anymore, but rather an actual kid who was able to help out with things. He wasn't a fan of the Redfox boy, Laxus wasn't, because back then he wanted any and all of his free time devoted to Haven and only Haven, which was trampled on, when she had friends over (Navi and Locke, mainly, even that early), but at the same time, Locke was an okay kid. He had an obsession with telling everyone about his loose teeth recently, which was annoying, but Haven liked when he'd wiggle the front one, with his tongue, and it was fine.

No, yeah, it was fine that Haven had other friends.

Super.

Great.

But when Laxus had his coughing fit that evening, Locke and Haven just sat around and played with her flashcards. Locke liked those. They had numbers and colors and letters and all sorts of fun stuff that he knew all, even all the way up to 150. Haven had ten down pat, was iffy on the teens, and could recite her letters only if she sang them very slowly and deliberately.

Which was fine.

That meant Locke got to keep going over and over them with her until she whined at Laxus that they weren't having any fun.

So it was his job to fix that.

He couldn't let Gajeel think that he had the more fun house. Then what if Haven wanted to spend all her time over there? When she got a bit older and go to decide those things? Then what? Huh? He couldn't let his daughter think there was anyone as great and fun as him.

Then...then she might not want to hang around him that much.

So, with Mirajane working all day and night up at the hall, it was up to the slayer to fix this. He checked in on Marin before going around the house and gathering up all the blankets and pillows his could find, telling Haven and Locke that they'd build the best fort to rule all other forts.

It was tiring work.

When it was all said and done though, the entire living room was littered with blankets hanging all about, suspended in some places by the kitchen chairs they'd drug in there, and drooping from where they'd wedged the edges between books on the shelf in the corner.

Laxus had to admit, it was quite impressive.

He remembered how excited Locke and Haven were, to get inside. She brought her stuffed animals and the baggie of animal crackers Laxus had given them to share. Locke brought the book of bedtime stories and flashcards.

Clearly, they had different ideas on fun.

He'd only just carefully made his way through the living room, to get to Marin and make sure she was still snoozing soundly, when it happened. There was Haven's loud giggles in the other room as well as the sound of things falling. Laxus, of course, rushed right back through the small house to see what was going on.

"What are you doing? Locke?" he griped when he saw them both standing there, but the boy in particular, tugging at blankets and knocking down the whole fort. This was the cause of the commotion. He'd knocked some books loose from the shelf. "Huh? Why are ya destroying the-"

"Build another!" Haven was jumping up and down, excited as she watched the destruction her older friend wielded. Locke, at the sound of the man's agitated voice, had stopped immediately, but still, she was hoping to spur him on once more soon enough. "New fort!"

"What?" Laxus frowned. "Why? That was the best fort you could ever get! Seriously. I...I was actually kinda proud of it..."

"Buildin' it was more fun," Locke explained as he mostly kicked at the ground and looked guilty. It was the only way to get Gajeel to not be so mad, when he did something wrong. And Laxus was making it seem like he'd done just that. "We thought. We wanted to make another."

"Make another!" Haven stopped jumping at Locke's side then, to jump back into the fort. Well, not into. Rather, atop it, knocking over more of the pillows and blankets and things. Locke looked on enviously, wishing he was brave enough to openly defy orders. Even at that age, he was quite fearful of being rebuked. At every age, Haven wasn't.

"You two don't understand," Laxus complained, now more annoyed than upset. "The point of a fort is to, you know, be inside of it! I thought you were gonna do flashcards again."

Yeah, no. Haven never planned on doing that again.

Ever.

"No," Locke told him with a shake of his head, his matted hair flying all about. "We wanna build a new one. If we can."

He coughed then, Laxus did, he remembered that, before it was a deep one, and he needed to sit down. Considering he'd decimated the couch for the ill-fated fort, he went to one of the now exposed kitchen chairs and took a seat on it. Haven was still helpful back then and, noting her father's discomfort, rushed to grab his cup of water from where it sat, on the shoved to the side coffee table.

As she rushed to hand it to him, Haven tripped over one of the many obstacles in her path, spilling water all about the supplies needed for the fort. She cried too, but not from being hurt. Embarrassment, maybe. As Locke went to pat her on the head and help her get up though, Laxus only sat there, his coughs causing his body to ache, but ceased momentarily.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked his daughter after Locke, trying to be helpful, decided waiting for her to get up wasn't the best course of action and instead started forcing her to be so. As he tugged her to her feet, Haven's tears stopped, just so she could shove at the older boy, but at her father's question, they both stopped and the blonde did nod.

"I spilled," she told him as she sniffled some, wiping at her eyes.

"That's okay, Haven." Locke patted her on the head roughly. "Everyone does."

But Laxus was rising to his feet then, first to get a new glass of water, but then with more purpose. As he stood over the sink, filling his glass, he stared out the window that hung over it, peeking out into the dark backyard, and got only the best idea ever.

Gajeel could do just about all Laxus had done for the kids that day, probably, but there was one thing he never could do.

That no one could ever do.

Leaving behind the disaster zone the living room now was, Laxus fetched the sleeping bags from the hall closet, snagged the baby monitor, and took the two older kids out into the starlit backyard.

"Like campin'," Locke explained to Haven as he dutifully unrolled sleeping bags for both he and the little girl. "Except...we don't got a tent."

"We don't need a tent," Laxus told them as he lorded over them, staring up into the clear night sky. "It would ruin it. Now sit down. Get in your sleeping bags. And watch."

They'd both seen it before. Laxus' lightning magic. Haven plenty of times. Locke only a few, when the man was tussling around with some of the other bozos up at the bar and the kid happened to be around.

His father was typically one of those bozos.

But it was different that night as black clouds began to form over head when the man raised his hand, and the stars disappeared, bringing on more darkness.

Not for long though.

It was so brilliant and illuminating. The lightning that lit up the sky, zigzagging all about above them. The thunder was loud too, booming overheard as the lightning bolts crackled and Laxus loved it. Every second of it. As the kids oohed and awed at his spectacle.

Locke could talk about nothing else, the next morning, when Pantherlily and Gajeel came to pick him up. The boy's father seethed, but Locke took no notice of it as, after hugging Haven goodbye, he slipped on his backpack and had to rush down the street, as Gajeel turned to stomp back off down it, much to the snickers of Lily and the boy.

"Hold hands!" Haven had yelled because that was a big deal to her, back then, when she saw people not doing that. Did they want to get lost. "Locke!"

He turned instead, to wave one at her, as he disappeared down the street with his father and Exceed.

"Did you have fun?" Laxus asked his daughter, as they turned to go back inside. "Haven?"

"Yes!" And she hugged him, he remembered, and as he only patted her on the back, he had no idea how bad it would all end up. How quickly. How soon. It felt like another life entirely, as he recalled the evening in detail, all those years later, on the train, headed to save his daughter.

And it wasn't that Laxus didn't understand the passage of time. How it was, really, just a long erosion, life was, and the parts you were left with at the end of it might not be who you were originally, but they were certainly pieces. Parts. Stuff that made up who you were at a different point in the timeline. They might be rougher around the edges, less beautiful, but it was all still a part of the same formation that once stood, so young and vibrant, in days long gone.

Whether this left you better or worse, no one could be the same person they were at three-years-old that they were at nineteen. And he wasn't the same person as he'd made the leap from young adult to much older.

But how could they have drifted so far apart? He felt like there was nothing left in Haven that had been there, when she was young. She hadn't just changed; she'd transformed into a completely knew person.

And had he done the same?

He used to want things. Back then. He still wasn't too optimistic and had bouts of the loneliness and drawn out self-loathing, but it had never been so bad. He always came out better for it. But now all he did was drink all day and bemoan every single thing that happened, good or bad.

There was no hope. Not anymore.

Had they eroded?

Or been completely washed away?

It was the wee hours of the morning when they arrived at their destination, but there was no rest to be had. Even though the two slayers were quite disoriented, they were only forced to march on, having to hike the rest of the way. Locke felt all the hope that Laxus didn't, though it was twinged with fear, because deep down, he knew things would be alright.

They always were, after all.

In Fairy Tail, things always worked out. Always. Sure, they were kind of messed up, currently, and he wasn't too happy about Haven once more dragging him into her shit (though he had a feeling she'd argue she'd done none of that and would be kind of mad at him, showing up uninvited, whether it was to save her or not), but how could he not go?

He'd promised Haven, in his apartment that day, that if she ever needed him, for anything, if she was ever in trouble, if he knew, no matter what, he'd come for her. That they all would. And look; here they were. Come to save her.

No one could in Bosco, but they'd make up for it now.

Haven had hope too. Or maybe something different. Less hope and more confidence, probably. Before she left with Ravan on the gauntlet, when she was still debating it, she really wasn't so certain they'd get too far. That they'd do too well. How could they? It sounded like an impossible feat that was dangled in front of greedy mages who were dumb enough to believe their own hype.

But oh, Haven was more than back on her own hype. She was addicted to it once more.

Sure, their four victories weren't the most flawless and yes, she was struggling there, on that last one, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't have gotten through it. Wouldn't have prevailed. Had Ravan not intervened.

He had though and now that she'd seen the full extent of the power he wielded, there was no way she was going to pass up a chance to get even a fraction of that, something similar, for herself.

When she'd arrived in Magnolia, yeah, part of it had been to get Locke to look at her eye, but another part was because she was, well...maybe she was losing faith. Somewhat. In herself. In her goal. What exactly she was striving for. She'd had a string of failures and falling outs that had left her somewhat aimless once more.

But it was right in line with what was necessary. Clearly. She'd needed to go back home, not for her eye, not for Locke, not for her parents or her sister or to see Erza, but because she had to meet with Ravan, had to hear about the gauntlet, and had to take it. Go on it. With him. So she could finally be rewarded for her struggle. Her perseverance. Her dedication.

Haven cut off everyone and everything, constantly, to devote her entire being to becoming better and stronger and for what? For fucking Ravan of all people to have a stronger spell than her? More magical power?

No way.

No way.

It was fated, all of it.

She'd always felt chosen, had always been chosen. It went further than her parents, her heritage, her last name, her guild. Haven had always felt, since she was a little kid, that she was meant to do something great and that everyone else was needlessly getting in the way of that. If not downright trying to undermine it. She'd never been able to explain it, maybe she could even now, but her distrust, her paranoia towards the others, it had always been because she convinced herself that they all felt it too. That they all knew. Her parents, relatives, friends; they all knew. What she was meant to be. And thought that if she didn't accomplish it, if she didn't reach it, if she never became all she thought she was, then maybe they could take it. Her power. It would be right there, in the open, for someone to snatch up.

It wasn't like it hadn't happened before.

That slayer lacrima was all but hers. A guarantee. But then...Marin… She didn't hold it against her sister, honestly, she didn't, and probably wouldn't be able to live with her self in the current age, if she'd taken it when Marin needed it so much more, but at the same time, the first time the universe had presented her with an opportunity and she turned it down.

Then Ravan's lacrima. _Her_ lacrima. Incidio was his idea, fine, but she'd bore the most for undertaking the request. It had been her that got excommunicated. That, actually, was the only one that completed the quest. She struck the name of the town into the wood. Her. She'd triggered the ending. That lacrima was hers. It belonged to her.

But…

She got emotional and perhaps felt a bit guilty, about Navi, and when she heard the man had died, never getting to fulfill his own life's work…

But then Ravan, that dirty snake, he took it. Which fine, saved it from rotting away. Or someone else from getting it. Still though, that had been her second chance at claiming what was hers. What the universe clearly wanted to give her. And she'd blown it.

Now, presented with the chance at some sort of mythical magic from a supposedly unbeatable quest, she was standing on the cusps of another chance. Another opportunity. Of course Ravan wanted to go home. Of course he was trying to fill her head with doubt. This was a test, just like all the ones before her. An appeal to reason.

It made sense to give Marin the lacrima. She was so sickly and unwell and though she spoke frequently, in her youth, of resenting and hating her younger sister, she was glad to see her well. Beyond well, even. Thriving. There was nothing more Haven wanted for Marin. Well, she wanted her to be stronger, braver, and, really, she wanted Marin to do everything she couldn't. Wasn't able to. She wanted, now, for Marin to start taking jobs. To make a name for herself. In the guildhall. Outside of it. Haven was fine with being the prodigal, she enjoyed it, but for this to take place, Marin had to rise in her own power. Haven wanted Marin to get as strong as possible, to be a true slayer, to become the next Dreyar to rule Fairy Tail with an iron fist.

Just so Haven could swoop back in and put her into her true place. One step beneath her older sister. Always.

It made sense that she wouldn't rightly feel as if she deserved a massive reward for stealing a job and nearly ending her friend's life. Now, to see Ravan with it, stupid, weak Ravan, fine, maybe she could even concede that he needed it. Maybe not that much power, but certainly something more than what he had. The natural progression of a mage's strength and magic wouldn't be enough to keep him up. He wasn't born to true mages, like the rest of them. His well wasn't deep and he might have even lost it, what ability he had, if he didn't begin training with Erza so early in his life. Now though, he had confidence and strength and power and he wasn't a mopey, lost little sad boy any longer. He was a man that seemed to at least somewhat understand his value in the guild. In the world. She didn't want him to hate himself and feel so alone. Even as angry as she was at him in that moment, she wanted for Ravan what she wanted for Navi; to find his own way and be successful in it.

But to also pay a hefty price for stealing her lacrima.

Unfortunately though, this left her with one last chance at pure, unadulterated power. She was sure of it. Three chances. No way the universe would give her anymore. And she'd pissed away the others on things that fine, maybe turned out for the better, for those involved in them, but fuck, no way. Not this time. Whatever came after the beast was hers. No matter what. She didn't care who she had to stomp on to get it.

This was her reward.

Hers.

And it was time to claim it.

She could tell Ravan still wasn't well though, as they traveled on. He went with her, of course, silent and hiding his grim expression behind cloth as she mostly ignored him, honestly. Outside of the gauntlet, they'd actually had an emotion few days that she really would like to just escape from all together. Haven was rare to find fault in her own actions (she still didn't necessarily feel too bad about them, anyways), but she could admit that _maybe_ sleeping with Ravan had been a bad idea. Solely because he was being such a shit head about it though.

It was hard to turn off. The way things were, away from the guild. Her childhood friends. Ravan wasn't like all the others she met, when she left home before her seventeenth birthday. He had a hard life, fine, lost his parents and all, but he'd been given a new home so quickly that he was hardly, well, hardened. He thought he was. He always had. But Ravan was very much so prone to sadness and got down on himself way faster than he got up. Clearly, he'd had some sort of...idea about what it meant, when they...and now she'd hurt him when she made it clear this was not the case.

She couldn't worry about that. She wasn't worried about that. He'd snap out of it, she was certain, when they got to the final monster. He'd have to. This was going to be the fight of their lives, after all. Whether all of his power returned or not in time for the big showdown, he'd at least have enough magic in him to draw his blades. Weapons. It was what he'd spent his entire life training in and what she felt like he was best equipped in.

His new spell was a game changer, but it was also a game ender. Ruiner. An unfair advantage. Used against a previously formidable foe, it could put a reckless, but concise end to a battle. She had a feeling that the final beast was going to be a bit more than formidable. His great blast would have weakened it greatly, but she imagined it wouldn't have taken it out completely.

No.

And she wouldn't have wanted it to.

Ravan kept talking about how he wanted to give her power. Win it. For her. As if Haven were beneath him now. Someone he was helping build up when, in fact, it was the other way around. It always had been and was even still. She was the one that saved his dumb life, every single day. He was lost, completely and utterly, before she decided to become his friend. To force the others to at least accept him.

He was nothing without her.

Idiot.

So he had some nice new fancy spells. Great. Whatever. Ravan was new to the confidence game though. The arrogance. The swagger. All it took was rejecting him (and not even, considering they'd actually slept together) and he was back to being the lost little loser he always was.

Nothing outweighed confidence.

And no one had more of it than her.

They camped out the next night close to their goal and yet Haven felt so distant, still. If it had just been her, she wouldn't have rested. Waited. She'd have rushed through, not eaten a scrap. Just to get there. To get started on it. Begin the battle. Win or lose (though she never considered the latter), she wasn't good at anticipation.

Haven was in a constant state of absorbing static from all about, even as she slept. It had been one of the first lessons Laxus taught her. Winter Festival had been upon them, but Haven had felt nothing but animosity, the entire week, because she'd found out that Gajeel was training Locke and that sucked because if he got started before her (even though he was older), that would mean he'd always be one step ahead of her. Even at a young age Haven knew she couldn't allow this.

Neither could Laxus.

So they sat there, in the snow, her feeling quite dumb at first as Laxus explained something close to meditation to her. It was every mage's first lesson. To become one with the magic that was naturally occurring, all around you. Inside of your. But Laxus took it a step further. He told her she'd never be able to hold onto electricity, the same way he was. The way it flowed unassisted throughout his body, due to the elemental state of his lacrima. Certainly though, he assured her, there had to be a way for her to attract it. To herself. Static existed mundanely for the most part, in the air they breathed in and out. If she could gather it, maybe not hold onto it, maybe not keep, but if she could get it to flow both in and subsequently out of her body, continuously, then she could wield it to her advantage. Combine it with her naturally occurring magical energy.

It was second nature to her now. She couldn't recall a time where, along with each intake of breath, she wasn't absorbing all the static from the air that she could. She didn't know what her body would feel like, if she wasn't constantly charged up, ready to go, at a moments notice.

Maybe that was why she always felt it. The rush. The adrenaline. The drive. Even as she slept, it was with a bit of restlessness, always needing to rise. To face the next challenge. To release some of what was swirling around inside of her. Kinetic.

That night was no different. She drifted more than she slept and, randomly, would glance over at where Ravan was. Just to be certain. That he hadn't run out on her. At one point, nearing three in the morning, she found him up, digging through his pack and only laid there, stretched out on her sleeping bag, just watching him.

"It's okay, you know."

It was the first time they'd spoke to one another, really spoke to one another, since...well, she blew up on him. Before. When he told her that they should give up. But her anger was fleeting, as always, and though she felt no remorse for it, she did feel as if she could explain better, in the stillness of a new dawn, twice removed for the one referenced, and with a bit of a clearer head.

"If you leave." Haven even shut her eyes, annoyed just from the thought. He'd been the one to pump her up, to build the whole thing up to her, to tell her that this was obtainable, that it was theirs. If they just grasped it. But… "It's okay to be scared, Ravan. To be afraid. It's no joke, I know, what we're going to go up against. What we're going to face. If you don't think you can do it, then leave. Right now. I'll face it alone. I didn't go through all of of this for nothing. It was for a reason. I left Fairy Tail for a reason. I went to Bosco for a reason. I met every single person I've traveled with for a reason. But you didn't. Do any of that. So this isn't your fight. Leave then, if you want. You have my blessing."

When she opened her eyes, she saw though, him pulling something from his bag instead and flashing it her direction in the moonlight. A pack of smokes.

Oh.

As he pulled one from the pack, he only went back to his own sleeping bag, sitting on the edge of it as he lit up in the stillness of the night. After tugging down his bandanna, he took a long, deep draw from the cigarette before he spoke.

"I'm not leaving you, Haven." He wouldn't look at her though. Instead, as he glared at the smoke he blew, Ravan said, "We're in this together."

But were they?

Really?

Skewing her eyes down, she listened to his inhales and exhales of smoke for awhile before saying, "There's no way this was all for nothing. That's all. Ravan. All of this couldn't have been for nothing."

He considered this as he did most things, for a tense few moments punctuated only in his silence before, cigarette dangling from his lips, he asked, "What happened in Bosco?"

"W-What?"

"You told me that you got stuck there. Or something." His eyes fell to where she laid finally. "The only thing I know about it is the slave trade. What else is there? That goes on? Why were you there?"

"For business. Work. I got hired to do some work."

He was still looking at her though, silent as ever, but she knew he was attempting to draw more from her. With just his gaze.

Skewing her eyes downwards, she refused to return it though she did say, "I'm not exactly good about keeping my composure. With hings I disagree with. I guess I shouldn't have gone to Bosco, if I couldn't handle all their slavery shit, but I… I got indignant about it, with the people I was working for and I ended up, uh, you know… Captured, I guess. Branded. Not very long. I escaped, obviously, but some of the stuff that… I don't like to talk about it."

Ravan nodded his head before, after a puff of his cigarette, he asked, "Then why would you go back?"

"How can I not? Eventually?"

"To get revenge?"

She snorted. "Maybe. But also… Could you imagine? Ravan? If people would just work together, in the other kingdoms, we could end it. There. In Bosco. The whole slave trade. We could-"

"Doubt it."

"Hey-"

"I'm not saying we shouldn't. Or that someone shouldn't. Or that it's just cool or whatever, that it goes on." He shrugged. "You'd have to go to war. Whose gonna do that? Or an uprising. An overthrow. Stuff that some lowly mage from Fiore that has no business even being in Bosco can't trigger." When he caught her glare, he shrugged some more. "I'm just being real. You can be as powerful as your mother, father, Erza, and the Salamander combined, Haven; short of taking over the entire government, you'll never change things over there. Although...dictatorship has always seemed to be your strong suit."

"You said it yourself." She turned from him then, to glare into the surrounding woods instead. "All it takes is an uprising. From the inside. A rebellion. And it doesn't matter where I'm from; I got branded and barred from Fiore once; I could get right back into Bosco and branded again."

"So what do you want then? To go get those guys from Crocus? Or..." And she felt his pause, even, it was so tangible between them. "To go back to Locke? Or are you gonna go to Bosco and...what? Die in a war that you want to trigger to save people that aren't even your own? You're a martyr now, Haven? You don't even know what you're talking about, do you? Every single time we talk, you have another, stupid idea and spin it as what you want. You have no idea what you want."

"Yes," she told him through gritted teeth, "I do."

"Then what? Huh?"

"I want a lot of things. All those things."

"And you think that you're gonna get them."

But he didn't ask.

Still, she answered.

"I know I am." Clinching a fist, she could feel the electricity as it fluctuated through her, in and out, ebbed and flowed. "I'm going to beat this final monster. Get my power. Use it to get the power I want, from those guys I used to hang around. I'll help you do whatever it is you want. Like I promised. And then… Then I'll go back. To Bosco. If I fail there, fine. If I don't… Fine. And then..."

"You really put a lot of stock in your dumb relationship." He sounded bitter though, instead of just annoyed, like usual, like he had, all the times before, when he spoke of it. It wasn't the lack of belief that spurred his words now, but rather resentment over what he viewed as her mistreating him, the other day. "One where you sleep around, on your dumb boyfriend, are never around, and can't even tell him, fully, about what you plan to do. Some relationship."

But she only shook her head. "It's deeper than that."

"Than what?"

She couldn't explain. Because she didn't know. But it sounded like something Locke would agree with, if he heard her say it. She had told him, anyways, somewhat, that day on his couch. She wanted different things than him. Magnolia, Fairy Tail, were his dreams and she wanted him to get all he could out of them.

Her scope was just broader and less easy to pin down.

Whether at the end of things they were still _together_ or not, he'd still be Locke. And she'd still be Haven. They'd always be together on that level. It was all that mattered.

In the dawn, Ravan and Haven set out once more, but she could notice some hesitation in his steps. She chalked it up to fear, but honestly? He kept expected to hear the signature yell of Natsu or the bickering he threw down with Gray whenever they were together, somewhere in the distance. He knew it was a long way out, where he and Haven were, but surely, if they hurried, rushed, then they could catch them.

Someone would stop them, right? Before they got to the pedestal?

No, as it turned out.

They wouldn't.

"This is it then," Haven remarked as they stood there, looking all about. "The final monster."

It was a cliffs edge, where the pedestal stood, over looking a stream far down below and mountains lingering in the distance. Beautiful was the word for it, if either was ever good at taking note of such things. Instead, Ravan kept glancing all about, hoping that someone else would join them and soon, because he knew things were going to go south fast. Haven though just sat her pack down behind a stack of rocks, obscured hopefully from the view of the beast.

"I have all the med supplies in here," she told Ravan. "So, uh, you know… I just figure this one will take a bit. If we have to tag team it, or if you're down and out, with your stitches and your magic being so low… Look, let's just get to it, alright? We don't have a lot of time left on the token."

They didn't. They'd gotten lost a bit, in the surrounding area, and Haven wanted no discrepancies to screw this up. She was getting her fifth token if it killed her.

"Haven..."

"You're not talking me out of this." She frowned as he came to drop his pack beside hers. "I'm serious. Ravan. This is my destiny. Can you not feel it? Everything we've done, for this moment. I'm ready. I've been ready. I'm chosen, Ravan. Aren't you?"

No. Not even close. But still, he felt himself nod as, together, they approached the pedestal.

The light was a bright, brilliant white as it shone from the etchings and as they took their positions, it wasn't across from one another this time, but rather side by side, Ravan in his armor and Haven with sparks flying, strong and striking from her body.

But what materialized before them wasn't a monster. It was no beast. It was...a man. Haven blinked at this in confusion, looking to Ravan for some similar concerns. Of course, all she got back in reply was the her face reflected in his sleek, black armor.

The man before them looked normal enough, tall, fit, wearing some sort of ceremonial white and blue robes that hung from his body. His eyes though didn't look...right. They were human, not animalistic in any way, but the pale purple color of the irises looked almost soulless. Empty. When he opened his mouth though was when Haven finally took a step back in concern.

It wasn't a language that he spoke. Not the common tongue and perhaps not even another. It sounded...demonic. And dark. Wrong. Almost like speaking backwards or in gibberish. It echoed in their ears and Ravan immediately summoned a large blade from his arsenal, gripping the hilt tightly as he judged the situation.

"The power," he whispered softly and wondered if this was the shock the others got, when his spiked so suddenly, following his lacrima. Overwhelming. The most power Ravan had ever felt in another person, so heavy and unfamiliar, was Jellal, all those years ago, when he was a child. He'd become accustomed to it over the years, but back then? It felt like the man could destroy the entire world with a snap of his fingers.

What was radiating off the 'man' before them was much heavier and far more sinister.

"Get ready." Haven felt herself tensing up as, slowly, the man before them rose. Literally, rose. From the ground. He didn't jump or anything like that. As magic circles appeared beneath his feet, he began to levitate, slowly, rising higher and higher in the late morning sunlight. The sun shining brightly behind him, the final monster spoke again, in his echoing gibberish, but Haven didn't want to hear it. At all. Instead, she screamed, "Let's go!" to Ravan as the man's crossed arms unfolded and, palms out, purple orbs began to form.

The last battle had begun.

Things were much less tense with the others, however, as they were still some time out from the location. They had to camp out, that evening, to just rest for a bit, but Locke was kind of spurring everyone on, insisting that he'd just go ahead of them if they stayed in one place for too long.

"We have to get there," he kept insisting to the others. Only Lily and Elfman didn't seem annoyed with him. "I'll just ditch you, if you guys can't keep up."

"Threaten your master, huh?" Laxus snorted, every time he claimed this. "Not a wise choice."

But they could tell Locke was tense and, eventually, as they neared the forest, he did leave them behind. Laxus and Gajeel were arguing, the former more agitated over his lack of alcohol so far that day and the latter because, well, just because! He didn't realize Haven and Ravan were so far out, when he agreed to come, and the trip was quickly turning bunk.

They got lost, anyways, the adults did. Mostly because they knew something of the location, the area, but had no idea specifics and the forest was huge and they were planning to track Haven and Ravan's scent, but the two of them had gone in circles, just a bit, when they got lost, doubling back a few times, and then Locke was gone, off in the forest, searching himself, and the afternoon sun shone above them all, casting more shadows than it did anything else.

Ravan and Haven weren't having the best of times on their end either. This was remarkably different from the last challenge and, as Haven feared, seemed to drag. She'd been in three massive battles in her life, that lasted over an hour, and they were draining. It was as much a battle of conservation as it was wits. She had no idea if the 'monster' before them had to worry about the former, but she knew that was packing a lot of the latter.

Battered and frustrated, she still tasted no defeat and, taking a running jump, she was nearly able to clear Ravan completely, but instead used his head as a springboard, knocking a electric fist into the monster as he was close enough then. Not that this did much. Her typical knock out punch. It was the finale of so many of her battles, but she'd used it at least four times by now on the monster, but to no avail.

Nothing felt like it was working. And they'd been going at it for so very long. She could tell Ravan was tired. She felt it herself. The man was just eating her blows and Ravan's blades like it was nothing. While it felt like they were somewhat holding their own, ground still felt like it was being lost overall.

He was toying with them.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up, Haven," Ravan warned at one point, but she was beyond him then. Defensively, he was providing her a lot of support as he wielded two thin blades then that he used to deflect most shots of energy shot their way, either back at the monster or, more often than not, missing him entirely and dissipating slowly as they shot across the expansive cliff side, disappearing into the blue sky that surrounded them. "We have to end this."

"Any suggestions?" she griped as she fell to the ground, the man flying back from her punch, still levitated in the air, but lower now. Reachable. Toying with them. It was fucking annoying.

"I told you I don't have enough energy, Haven! I'm doing what I can. This is gonna have to be on you."

She nodded some, thinking. Considering. As it stabilized itself in the air once more, the 'monster' just levitated there, speaking more unintelligible words before raising it's hand and shooting at them again. Haven had to jump back, to avoid them, as Ravan's blade kept him safe from harm.

"There is," she called over to Ravan, "one thing."

"Then fucking do it! I'm serious. I… We have to do something. At least injury him. Seriously injure him. And soon. He won't keep toying with us."

Still, she didn't move to use whatever spell it was she was talking about and Ravan was finding himself more at odds with the woman than he wasn't their joint enemy. There was no way that it was going to keep soft balling things to them. At most, the man had worn both of them out, but soon enough, he would finish the job. Use whatever actual power there was inside that made him the final beast.

He didn't understand Haven's hesitance. Sure, they weren't in horrible shape, but they clearly weren't making ground. If there was something that she could do, anything that she could do, to at least even the playing field a bit, he wanted her to get on with it.

Quickly.

When he glanced back at her then, he saw her standing fully then, one hand up, over her face, and she was mouthing something it seemed, almost as if rehearsing it, before she proclaimed whatever the true spell it was that she was about to summon.

God, he hoped it was worth all this.

"In my darkest hours," she yelled out after a moment or two, "I turn to you, heavens above." And, as a magic circle appeared beneath her feet, Haven lifted her hand from where it cupped one eye, raising it high in the air as she began to yell, "Grant to me- Arg!"

Ravan couldn't deflect it. Away from Haven. He tried. When the ma shot a disk this time, of twirling energy, it bypassed the swordsman completely, even as he thrust his blade to the side, hoping to drag it through the shot. Deflect it. Stop it. Haven had left herself completely open and the disk was aimed right for her outstretched arm.

There was something about it. The scent of blood. The way it twinged the air almost immediately, metallic and heavy, was unmatched. And then, as Haven fell forwards to her knees, she could smell nothing but as she stared in shock at her wrist.

"Hold on!" Ravan yelled at her and he was panicked, wasn't even sure what he meant by his yell. It even felt a bit mean spirited if taken in the wrong context as, in that moment, her arm just barely was.

It sliced right through the meaty flesh and into the bone, severing tendons and muscles and Haven had just lost her arm. That's all the resounded in her mind as she stared at it, the pain secondary as she freaked out silently, just a bit, shocked and confused momentarily. It was still attached, just barely, but there was no way...no one would be able to...she was going to have to…

And they were in the middle of nowhere. She needed a...a...tourniquet or whatever, right? Yes! Yes! She'd completely shut off blood flow right under the cut and then...then...lose her arm? What?

Ravan was too panicked to feel it as, full aggravated now and feeling vengeful, he ran full blast towards the man, opening to just skewer him, finally. End it. All of it. As if that would somehow bring Haven back her right arm.

But Haven felt it. What he was missing. Even in her stupor, she could sense him long before he showed his face, running faster now, at the sound of her initial cry of pain.

"Locke. Locke. I...I..."

"Shut up. Come here."

He came tumbling into the clearing with them to find Haven there, on her knees, open and vulnerable as, with her good hands, she seemed to be holding the wounded one close to her chest. Blood was getting everywhere and he couldn't quite see the problem, but it didn't matter.

As Ravan dove at the levitating man, the one that had just joined them was falling to his knees beside Haven as she had tears frozen in her eyes, too perplexed by her arm to truly question just how he was there. Why he was there.

"It's okay," Locke whispered softly as he held out a hand, a magic circle appearing beneath it. When Haven resisted, he only insisted, "Let me see. Have. You have to let me see."

But she couldn't look, couldn't accept, what had happened. What was wrong. The pain was starting to set in and it was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. The whole thing had been a mistake. All of it. And now...now she'd be lucky not to die of blood loss, but would definitely be losing an arm.

"It's okay." That time, Locke sounded more confident and her arm felt searing heat then, forcing her to pop her eyes open and attempt to jerk away from him. Locke had his other arm though, gripping hers, and he wouldn't let her budge as he brought the one with the magic circle around the circumference of her forearm. "See? You're okay. Haven. You're alright."

Blinking then, the pain faded and as he released her arm, the blonde jerking it back to herself, protective at first, them stumped the next.

"How?" was all she got out as she held it up, full connected once more, not even a scar or trace of a wound having ever been there. Wiggling her fingers all about, she had so many questions, but Locke was only reaching out then, for her face. Brushing his finger tips along her cheek, she felt the same searing pain as he dealt with some sort of scrap she had on her face.

"I'm a healer," he whispered softly as he glanced over at where Ravan was still trying to cut down the man. "I've gotten stronger. Flesh wounds are nothing now. So long as I get to them in time. Now when you add in magic-"

"But how are you here?"

"Does it matter?"

"Locke-"

"I told you that if I ever knew you were in trouble, I'd come, didn't I?"

She made a face, but nodded as he only smiled then, as if in relief.

"You're in deep shit. Haven." He leaned forwards then, quickly, to brush his lips that time against her sweaty and dirt covered forehead, though just as quickly he was springing to his feet. "What the fuck is that thing? A person?"

"Some sort of conjuring." She was still down on the ground, staring in wonder at what he'd done to her arm. "Why didn't you tell me you could do all this?"

"Same reason you didn't tell me you were leaving."

Touche.

But there was a loud bashing sound then and, as they both watched, Ravan was struck with a blast far more powerful than those before. As he tried to use his swords to deflect, it shattered both blades as he crossed them in front of himself, traveling right through and striking his helmet with such force that part of it broke away.

"Uh, yeah," Locke repeated as his jaw dropped a bit. "You're in deep shit."

And the monster was done toying with them.

As Ravan went flying backwards from the blast, he was able to keep his feet under him and, as he skid across the hard ground, he seemed shocked for a moment, that part of his helmet was gone. But then his eyes fell on Locke. The half of his expression the pair could see immediately darkened.

"What are you doing here?" Ravan growled at him, but Haven was on her feet then, reaching out to grab Locke's right arm.

"Guard me," she insisted to him and, well, yeah, duh. "Don't let any of the blasts get me. And don't touch him! I think you invalidate my victory, if you do."

"Your what?"

But Haven was already focused on the next point of business.

As she released his arm, Locke only held it out, the appendage becoming completely covered them in steel plating and, as the first orb was fired by the monster, Locke smashed it away easily, the armor on his arm not cracking in the slightest.

"After I do this," Haven was yelling to Ravan then who was still just on his knees, staring over, "let Locke heal you."

"Fuck that. Fuck him. What the fuck is he doing-"

But Haven didn't have time to worry about the boys and their stupid loathing of one another. No. It was time again, to test out her newest, most powerful spell. It had nothing on the one Ravan had pulled out last battle, but she'd been working on it, long and hard. Fucked it up many times. But if she could pull it off right now, well, there's no way that it would kill the monster before them, but she just needed to lower his health, his defenses. Something. Anything.

Now with Locke here, she felt emboldened once more. Especially knowing just how far his healing skills had progressed. What could hurt them? With that on their side? Not to mention, well, it had been a bit, since he saw her truly battle it out. The most recent time had been Marin which, honestly, was hardly her all.

He'd shown.

Now it was her turn.

With him guarding her, she felt safer, even, than when she had Ravan beside her. Not taking the time out to consider her words this time, voice full of confidence, she held her repaired arm in the air once more, and with no hesitance recited her spell.

"In my darkest hours, I turn to you, the heavens above. Grant me the power only Raijin can wield!"

The lightning was different, as it fell from the sky in a loud sickening crack, not seemingly coming from any one cloud as the sky was mostly clear, but just appearing. Not in a striking white or brilliant yellow, but rather a bolt twinged with black. It flowed straight down, into her arm and Haven yelled a little at the first contact, a choking cry, but as the sparks that jumped from her body changed in shade, she only lowered her arm slowly.

"God Slayer magic?" Ravan yelled at her, still on the ground, incredulous to the sight.

"No." Haven had closed her eyes, but when she opened them, a single one was dark, glowing a vibrant red. "Not exactly."

"You lied to me," Locke griped as he blocked an orb, headed straight towards her though his eyes were back on the blonde.

"I have that tendency."

"How?" Ravan just didn't understand. At all. They'd all grown up with the stories. Of such a thing. God Slayer magic. Laxus had fought one once, with the same element. Natsu had as well, with his own, but he'd taken it on. The flames. Eaten them. It had been a huge undertaking, Ravan knew, even from the messed up, half remembered version Natsu told. Even better from what he'd read in part of Navi's manuscript he'd taken from Marin. "It's impossible!"

"It doesn't have to stay inside of me. I'm not harnessing it." And Locke had to jump out of the way not from a blast from the monster that time, but rather as black lightning poured down from the sky again, Haven tossing up her arm and letting it strike her. Passing her boyfriend now, she stood before him, her mix-matched eyes trained on the enemy before her. "It flows through me. In and out. It's possession magic."

"Who," Ravan growled as he was finally finding his feet, "are you possessing?"

"I dunno. Maybe a god himself."

"Haven," Locke whispered, but the monster was motionless now, just floating, before them, as if studying Haven once more. Like she were a new adversary. "Where did you learn this?"

But it was to Ravan she remarked, "I said I was chosen, didn't I?"

Not giving either of the guys a chance to distract her further though, Haven lowered her once severed, now whole arm before shooting a blast of the black lightning straight for the monster. It dodged most of it, but enough caught it's side and, rather than just fall back, this time there was a cry from it, some sort of words spoke as Haven's lightning scorched some of the cloth, revealing the monster's flesh beneath.

"Heal Ravan," was her order to Locke before, running now, she was shooting down more lightning as more only fell from above, striking and powering her, as the man was on the defensive now. Haven had never had it work so well, this spell, and felt something of a rhythm, finally, taking over her movements.

The wind was picking up then, and around the blood and electricity clogging up the air, Locke could smell the chill and was glad, at least, this was all going on currently, rather than a few weeks, if not days, from then.

Snow on top of everything else would really complicate matters.

"Your head is bleeding," he remarked to Ravan as he rushed to the other guy's side. "Look, let me just-"

"Fuck off." And he shoved him away when Locke tried to bring his hand up to his head. "I'm serious."

"I'm serious! Haven said she wanted me to-"

"Fuck Haven and fuck you. Why are you here? Why did Kai tell you?"

"Are we really going to argue about something like that right now?"

They really were.

The whole thing had tastes of Incidio woven throughout it and Ravan, who was so wholly against the final monster before they began, now desperately wished they'd beaten it before the stupid Redfox idiot showed his face.

But further off, still lost in the forest, the ominous cracks of lighting up ahead gave Laxus a jolt as the static in the air shifted and, with a slight growl, he informed the other men, "That's Haven."

"A man's lightning if I ever saw it," Elfman remarked, forgetting for a moment just why he'd claimed to need to come along on the journey. "That's definitely my niece!"

"Laxus, is that lightning… It looks a bit..." Freed glanced up at it once more as it shot down from the heavens, some miles ahead of them. "Off."

"Well," Gajeel, who'd moments ago been arguing with his Master about just where Locke had gotten off to and why he was even on the dumb trip, mumbled to Pantherlily as the other slayer's focus shifted, "Haven's a bit off."

Lily was too busy covering his ears as thunder rolled over head to care.

But oh, she was so on then as they battled it out, over the cliff. Eventually, she was able to manipulate the strikes that fell down to strike the monster and it was actually doing something to him, she was nearly certain, and this was it. This was power. To think that she would inevitably, when this was all over, have more than this, become stronger than this, or even just to have _this_ constantly, inside of her, well…

There was nothing like it.

Locke was getting nowhere with Raven though and, as the other guy just tugged off his shattered helmet in the disgust, tossing it to the ground in anger, Locke focused in on assisting Haven instead. As the monster got some separation from her and sent another one of those twirling disks of energy that had nearly severed her arm completely before, Haven only shot it down with a bolt of black lightning and she laughed.

Loudly.

Gleefully.

Great. Locke wasn't nearly as amused. She was already letting her borrowed power go to her head.

Chosen one his ass.

Still, feeling as if he had to do something, he summoned then his throwing knives, hoping he could use his magnetism in his right arm to hold the monster in place for a bit. Help Haven out. But as his knife twirled through the air, one of Haven's lightning bolts got shot at it instead, knocking it down.

"Do not," she yelled at him over her shoulder, "ruin this for me, Locke."

Right.

Invalidation. He wasn't there from the start. So regardless of the fact that there was still a good chance this thing was going to kill them all, he was supposed to just stand there and heal people or play body guard so that Haven finished her stupid gauntlet.

He tried hard not to groan.

Ravan though felt it then, as his broken helmet was sent back to the reequip space. He'd told Haven he wouldn't have enough magical energy to help with much and, well, he was nearing his end. It had nearly been two hours of deflections and all before she pulled this out of her hat. A show off. Always.

Still, he knew that whatever it was she was doing now (possession was what she called it, but until he knew the specifics, he thought it was something much different) couldn't last forever. Wielding that special magic as well as conjuring it up had to be draining her as well and Haven would never let herself get too down on magic. Ever. She knew better than that. She'd end the spell before she got halfway, if she didn't think she could end the monster soon.

He summoned it then, his favorite sword. Erza had gifted it to him, once, and as the blood ran warmly down his face, he prepared for when Haven would call for his assistance.

"At least let me-"

"Fuck off, Redfox." Ravan wouldn't even look at him. "We don't need you."

But oh, Haven definitely did.

Ravan was right. Her newfound power was infinite and she could feel it, spreading inside of her, from her eye into her forehead as the aches began and it was hard to drown out. She wanted to lose herself in the heat of battle, but she knew she had to drop it soon enough. The God Slayer lightning. The longer she held on, the stronger the headaches.

She always chickened out before finding out just what would happen if she refused to relinquish.

Haven wanted it though, before she gave in. Gave up. Just one, flush, knuckle and lightning on jaw bone uppercut. Her lightning had already grounded the man, though he still levitated, less than a foot, off the ground, and he was evading and blocking with his palms a lot of her strikes, but she just needed an opening.

One opening…

When she got it, she gave it her all, black lightning sparking and crackling as thunder roared overhead and it was so perfect. If she could live in a moment, any moment, in her entire life, ti would be that single one. Where she'd thought as the monster went flying back, over the cliff's edge, out of sight, that she'd won. That she'd done it.

She'd completed the Monster Gauntlet.

Haven dropped, to her knees once more, as she released her the eye magic. Locke was at her side in moments, falling down as well as he pulled her close.

"Are you alright?" He frowned when she blinked at him, a bit dazed. "Someone hit you in the eye with magic, huh?"

"I'm a liar, Locke."

"But why?"

Because she picked up the spell from some unsavory people that she really didn't want to talk to him about. Because the spell was rather dark in nature. Because she was fearful of it, the first time she tried it, and it fucked up her eye.

He was here now though. To wash away the rot and there was a reason, finally, one that she could justify to herself over just being in love with him, to keep Locke around. Wow.

"It doesn't matter." Her one good eye was bright and blue and he wanted the other one returned that way immediately. As he raised his free hand to get on that, feeling much freer about it now, after having cast the spell before, in his apartment, Locke tried hard not to grin, but it was difficult. As he healed her eye, Haven reached out with her own hand to cup his cheek. "I won."

But Ravan hadn't.

He'd came to Haven's aid as well, but instead of falling beside her, come to stand before her, to protect her, because something told him this wasn't over. Something told him there was more. His gut or just common sense in realizing that was way too fucking easy.

Instead of on the cliff side though, Ravan found his eyes fall behind him, to where Haven and Locke were basically all over each other, he felt, and wasn't it shit? Wasn't the whole thing shit? He'd drug Haven across the country only for Locke to show up, like always. Swoop in and save the day. Where was he? Huh? When Haven was being crushed before? Nowhere. Where was he when back in Crocus? Hiding like a fucking coward.

Locke was a coward.

A fucking coward.

It wasn't fair.

What did he have to do, huh? What? He'd resounded, before, to Haven's apparent desire to still be with the guy, but to do it right in front of him? To act that way when he was right there? What was that? Huh?

What was any of this?

Why was he doing any of this?

Why did he care so fucking much about someone who didn't care about him at all? What had Haven ever done for him? All he ever did was try to impress her, to impress Erza, to impress a Master who fucking hated him for no fucking reason at all and what difference did it make? Did any of it make? What was the point?

Ravan had gotten all the power he could ever want, could ever imagine having, and it hadn't changed a thing. The Master still hated him, Erza was probably super disappointed in him for needing to call in for help, and Haven was always going to be in love with Locke, apparently, and wasn't that just great.

He'd thought before that his life was coming together, that all the seams were perfectly align, and Haven was going to finish threading all together, but nope. No way. Not Haven. Never Haven. She was just here to rip things apart. Everything. Always.

Haven wasn't his friend.

She never had been.

Haven was always just using him, just like she used everyone, and he thought he was okay with that, he thought he understood that, but nope.

The Master told him years ago that he was better off all alone than with his daughter and, well, guess what? Every drunk is right once a year.

"Laxus is here," Haven whispered softly then as she could sense it. His power. Looming. Her eyes were full of accusations, but Locke, finished with her eye, only moved forwards to press his forehead against hers. Safe. Haven was safe.

"Haven!" She could hear her uncle too. Elfman. "Where are you?"

But as Haven was rising to deal with that, she saw him. Ravan. He sent his sword back into the reequip space and instead of going back over to the pedestal, to wait for it, their token, he started to walk away.

"Ravan." She rushed to him, to grab his arm. "Hey, what are you doing? Don't you get it? We-"

"Fuck off."

"Ravan-"

"I said to let me go, Haven."

Locke, still on the ground, was confused by this, but more focused on something else. He could feel them too. Sense them. Their parents and the others. But as he swallowed, he could feel something else as well. But not coming from back in the forest.

"Uh, guys?" He got to his feet once more. "I don't think you've won just yet."

There was beauty in the grotesque, for sure. If none of the three knew that before, they did then as it rose from the cliff side, the monster Haven thought she'd bested. It no longer wore it's ceremonial robes floated before them nude, unabashed as it's flesh seemed to get paler by the moment, a hue of blue rather than pink present and when it spoke that time, dread filled each of their bellies. Levitation wasn't it's mode of transportation now, instead fleshy appendages, like featherless wings, flapped gruesomely over it's shoulders and with each, sickening flap, they could see tendons beneath the stretched then flesh moving in tandem.

Of all the monsters they'd faced on the gauntlet, this one made Haven's stomach drop the most.

As it cried out to them in it's gibberish, she could only stare, both in awe and horror, at what was before them. The energy radiating off it now was somehow more massive and imposing and Haven never regretted a decision.

Never ever.

Not once.

But…

"Fuck this." Ravan could only shake his head. "I'm out."

Haven was confused then, as he jerked his arm away from her and their eyes met, but only for a moment. Because in the next beat, the monster before them was raising one of his hands and what shot forth from it was different. The sickly energy no longer glow, but rather appeared like a solid black orb of nothingness, truly, a massive one, speeding across the space between all of them and he didn't mean to do it.

He didn't even think he still had the power to do it.

It was a reflex.

With no weapon drawn, Ravan had nothing to deflect the blow and, after what one blast had done to his helmet...his armor…

He phased through it.

The final bit of his magical power.

This wouldn't have been a problem had Haven not been positioned directly behind him.

It was different. Than when it cut her. That was a horrific injury, sure, but more in the realms of what one could expect from a battle to the death. This was different. So different. It happened so quickly, even, so suddenly, so unexpectedly that she didn't even have a chance to try and block it. With her force field. No. It might not even have mattered, had she done so.

The magic might have bore right on through it.

Like it bore through her.

Backwards was how she fell this time, slowly, she thought. Too slowly. Everything seemed slow. The sky was so clear and blinking up at it, she wondered how that could be. Why. It should be cloudy and gloomy. End of fall, early winter weather.

She reached up, first to the person closest to her. Ravan. She could see him, standing there, blinking too. But it was too much. It had all be too much, the whole time, and now…

He was the coward.

All along.

Not that it mattered as Ravan turned to run, right passed the group of them, the guys, shoving into Gajeel, even, who shoved him back, as they appeared then, in the clearing. He kept running too. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. Ever, he felt.

If he could just keep running...

_If he could just keep running…_

Locke took the sky's place as, not caring for the monster in the slightest, he came to fall again, for her, always, at her side. His eyes were wide and he was saying something, but Haven couldn't hear it in that moment. Only her father's voice as he yelled, first for her to get up and then justa loud piercing cry.

She figured he finally spotted their opponent.

"Haven… It's okay. It's okay." And Locke was the voice she heard then as she saw them, the magic circles that appeared over his hands and he was trying to do what he did before, but she felt no searing pain, no anything, really, and it was different now. The monster had been different now. The magic was differnet now.

This wasn't just a flesh wound.

It was beyond his control.

"It's okay," though, he kept insisting and trying and she saw out of the corner of her eye, Laxus run past them and Freed was there too, at their side, sword drawn. IT was weird, but she knew what he was doing, without seeing it. A script, quickly. A barrier. To protect them. Locke seemed oblivious though, to everything, as he kept trying his spells and he kept telling her that it was okay, but Haven didn't believe him.

"Pressure, Locke." Pantherlily was there too, in his big form, and Haven felt funny as he held something, someone's shirt or jacket or something, over her stomach with his furry paws. "Your magic won't help her."

"Yes, it will!" He was still trying, shoving at Lily's paws because he couldn't do it if he couldn't get to the wound and why wouldn't he just let him. Why? He had to save Haven. It was the whole reason he came. The whole reason he existed. "Move, Lily! I have to-"

"Enough, Locke."

"Dad, no, stop! I have to-"

"It's okay." Haven felt like she was choking, honestly, on something, in her throat, as she just stared up, watching out of the corner of her eyes as Gajeel got down there, trying to drag Locke away. "It's okay."

"It is," Locke agreed as he shoved his father off him, but didn't move to try his magic again. Instead, he only reached for her face, holding his over it. "Haven."

"Don't hurt." But her breathing did, as it felt irregular and hard. "Locke."

"Okay," he agreed and Lily was pressing hard into her stomach and she could hear Gajeel saying something, from behind his son, but she couldn't make it out. Not over Locke. His tears hit her face, or maybe it was hers, no longer just welled in her eyes, but actually falling down her cheeks, and he hadn't had such long hair, when they dated, for that year, but it was almost all back now, how it had been, their whole time growing up. She felt it, as one of his hands dropped from her cheeks and moved to grab her hand instead, but it felt distant. Like it wasn't her. Like she wasn't really there. "It'll always be okay, because it always is okay. Everything always works out. Always. Okay? Haven? Okay?"

But things weren't okay.

Laxus had realized that before they got to the clearing. He could sense it. They all could. What awaited them. What was there. He was amped before he made it to the cliff, but at the sight of Haven lying there, in her own blood, and...and...he just…

It had been so long, since he'd gone into his Dragon Force, that it felt unnatural and wrong, but it was pure instinct then, taking over. As he ran passed his daughter, all he could think of was destroying it. The beast before them. The monster. The abomination. He hadn't fought so viciously since his youth, but it all came flooding back to him and he could hear nothing other than the cracks of his thunder and Elfman, who fought along beside him, transforming just as instinctual it had been for him, untied, together.

For once.

Freed knew though. As he wrote the script. He wasn't protecting Haven any longer; he was protecting Locke. As his own eye darkened though and his armor fell over his body, it overwhelmed him too. But not anger and aggression, like Laxus and Elfman. Rather sorrow. Deep and consuming. He fought valiantly, all the same, with the three of them, and it was no match, whatever it was meant to be, but as the beast was slain, finally, truly, by a direct blow from Laxus' electric fist, but left no token when it crumbled to the ground before dissipating.

Because it had not been slain by either who had summoned it.

It was so draining, going into Dragon Force. Laxus felt a bit lost. Void. He stood there in the clearing for a moment as his hearing came back to him and Elfman was back to his normal self, turning, to stare at her Haven. Still on the ground as Locke sobbed over her.

"Ha...Haven… You have to get up." Elfman took a step forwards, but his vision blurred some when she didn't stir. "Haven?"

"Haven!"

Locke was the one who ate lightning then as, after yelling out for his daughter, Laxus shot it at the much younger man, sending him tumbling away from her. His daughter. Haven. Gajeel got up, taking his own steps back, but it was more to go grab Locke, who shot right back up and tried to come over again.

"Dad-"

"Enough." Gajeel held him back, wrapping his arms tightly around him as Locke fought him, for a moment, before just giving in. Then he was hugging him, his son, for the first time in years. "It's over."

But it couldn't be, for Laxus.

Lily had long given up attempts at stopping the bleeding as Haven had, in fact, been gone for some time. But Laxus couldn't believe it. As he sat on his knees at her side, his hands were electric and he shoved her, grabbing both cheeks in his hands, trying to revive her. To snap her out of it. To wake her up.

It didn't work.

She was gone.

His brain couldn't process this. It didn't make any sense. As he stared down into her eyes though, he saw no light behind them and, eventually, his head only fell forwards as he sobbed. Over her. His daughter. Haven. He felt empty. Emptier than he ever had. Alone. Without her.

What had been the point?

In any of this?

"It'll be okay, Locke." Gajeel held him still, tightly, but Locke didn't hear him. Didn't feel him. Or anything, really. "It'll all be okay."

It wouldn't matter if he had heard him.

He knew his own lie, after all, when it was parroted back to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Locke had never heard grown men weep so openly before.

Elfman cried frequently, easily, over the years, but this was different. The tears. The sounds. His father was the only one without tears in his eyes and, as they all stood or sat around, Locke keep kind of expecting to just wake up. From the dream. The nightmare. The horrible nightmare that he'd just experienced.

But this was no dream. No nightmare. This was reality and as he sat there, refusing to stare over at her body, just sitting, with his back up against the rocks she'd hidden the supplies behind, he kept feeling it. The tears. They'd well up and fall, some, but then dry and he'd think that he could breathe again, but then he'd glance over at her body and just…

His father stood before him, but Pantherlily, still in his large form at first, sat beside him, silently. He wasn't unabashedly crying, the Exceed wasn't, but the fur around his eyes was a bit wet and he knew death. Well. In the military. Before. In his other life. But this felt different.

It wasn't even that the feline felt some sort of extreme attachment to Haven. He felt like Locke thrived much better apart from her. But still, he'd known the girl since birth. Spent countless days babysitting both she, Locke, and Navi, and many more as the kids grew, training with the former two. It all felt so surreal…

"We should leave."

Gajeel was speaking softly, turning then to stare down at where the pair of them set. Lily was tiny once more, just staring down in a mix of disgust and shock at all of her blood that covered his paws, body, and pants. Locke didn't even look at the man though. Just stared off as tears, again, threatened to start falling once more.

"We need to let her family be alone." Gajeel's tone was calm and he wasn't growling, for once. It was almost soothing, maybe that was what he was going for. "Locke."

But he refused to do anything more than shake his head and insist, "I'm her family."

"Locke.."

Laxus didn't notice them anyways. Any of them. As his tears finished falling, he just fell back on his butt, beside her, as Elfman came over to stare down at her too and cry into his palms and moan while Freed stood beside him, tears rolling down his cheeks at first, but now just stains as he gazed down at her. Haven.

"She's gone. Laxus." When the man didn't move, Freed slowly, cautiously, did so, bending down and reaching out. As the slayer glared and toss him away, the rune mage's hand went nowhere near him. No. Just up, to Haven's face as he slowly, tenderly, moved to close her eyelids. This set Elfman off into another round of sobs, but Laxus was silent as he tensed, watching. Still, Freed found himself saying, "I will journey into the nearest town. I am uncertain, truly, of who we should contact with this. We have to...get her...back to Magnolia. How-"

"No."

"Laxus, we cannot just-"

"We're not taking her back." He reached up then, rubbing a palm into his scarred eye with a shake of his head. It didn't feel like him talking. Just someone else, speaking for him. "We're too far out."

"If it is cost-"

"Fuck you, Freed."

"L-Laxus-"

But he just shook his head again. "It's not the fucking cost, you asshole. It's… We're too far into the woods. And from home. Even to just get her out of here, they would… Whoever I asked to do it would… Her body… We're not taking her back home. We're...we'll have to...bury her here."

Elfman cried harder then, if it was possible, and his shoulders were convulsing and it was the worst thing Locke had ever heard. Or it would have been. Were Haven's final gasps not stuck in his head.

"You can't do that."

"Locke," Gajeel warned, but he didn't care. Jumping to his feet, he glared over at Laxus though the man wouldn't even spare him a glance.

"She has to go back home," he told his master. "She needs to go back home. We need to… We'll… Haven has to go back home. You can't leave her here. I won't leave her here."

Gajeel grabbed his arm though, when he tried to head over there and Lily was on his feet then, telling him to take a seat once more. Laxus was ignoring them though, all of them. His eyes were on his daughter's closed ones as he thought for a moment.

"Go into town," he told Freed as, slowly, he got to his feet. "We need shovels. And Elfman… Go pick a spot. Somewhere else. Close by. Can't bury her right here, near the podium thing that triggers… Go find a spot. Alright?"

As Freed nodded and Elfman tried to choke his sobs some, Gajeel released his grip on Locke's arm so he could come closer, to speak to the other slayer.

"You shouldn't dig your own daughter's grave." It was surely a sentence Gajeel never expected to have to tell another person. His arm changed then, to a shovel and Laxus looked dead, as he stared at him, making it hard for Gajeel to meet his eyes. "I'll do it. Me and the cat will. After your friend gets back with another shovel."

Laxus didn't speak to him, but did nod, some, and why were they all being so...so...forward? With all of this? How could they? How were they just moving on? So quickly? Clenching his fists, he seethed as he glared over at them.

"You can't do this," he told them all again, not caring as his father gave him a look over his shoulder. "You can't. I won't let you. You have to-"

"Haven never wanted to be in Magnolia, Locke." As Laxus spoke then, to the younger man, he shoved passed Gajeel some, approaching the man's son instead. "I'm not going to entomb her there for the rest of eternity. She doesn't belong there. She never did."

"So she belongs here?"

"She belongs in the open." Laxus was in front of him then and he wasn't glaring, like Locke was. No. He just looked very tired. "Where she do whatever she wants to do."

"She would want to be with me."

Laxus reached out then and, as Locke lowered his head, tears falling straight down now, onto the scorched ground where some of that black lightning before had touched down, the older man patted first at his shoulder and then cupped the back the other guy's neck. Softly, truthfully, he told him, "I'm sorry, Locke."

So was he.

Pantherlily went with Elfman, to find a spot, and Gajeel muttered something as he went off, after Freed was gone, to see if he could find the other one. The other guy. Ravan. Everyone had forgotten about him, in all the bedlam, but he could be hurt as well. Locke visibly tensed, at the sound of his name, but Laxus said nothing about it.

Yet.

It wasn't the time.

He couldn't be found though. Gajeel said he lost the trail some ways off and, when he came back, Elfman was no longer tearful, but he and the Exceed had picked a spot.

"I'll go start diggin'," Gajeel said and sounds was sparce then, between all the men.

No one found they had much to say to one another and, well, the heavy situation said enough for all of them.

Laxus and Locke stayed where they had been, the whole time, both sitting now, kind of together, maybe, by the rock. Neither spoke and Laxus seemed gone, really, lost in his head, but Locke just kept thinking about how much he hated it. All of it. But mostly himself.

He'd dedicated his entire life to getting better at being a medic. At learning every spell. Making new ones. Discovering and training and for what? So he couldn't heal the only person in the entire world he wanted to?

The slayer's mind was gone though. Away from the clearing. How was he going to go home? Tell Mira about this? Explain this to her? To any of them? How was he going to tell Marin that her sister was dead? Explain to Ajax that his cousin wasn't coming back home? Look himself in the mirror each and every morning and fuck.

Fuck.

Haven…

When Freed returned with two more shovels, Laxus rose to take him to where the others were. But first he went to stare down at Haven's body.

"I will fetch Elfman," Freed whispered. "He can carry her to-"

"I'll do it." Laxus was gentle as he did so, bending down to gather her in his arms. "I have her."

The last time Laxus had carried Haven was...was...was when she wasn't quite a teenager yet, not really. She was bothering the other kids in the hall, like she always did, and she and Locke were fighting and he hit her. Too hard. She knocked her head into the ground awkwardly and passed out. He carried her up to the infirmary. Before that...when she hurt her leg. When they were training. A year or so before that. And then...then…

"I have her," he insisted again as he stood there, staring down at her. "Freed."

"I know."

Locke stood then, alone, as they carried her off, and he didn't want to get left behind. For her to be out of his sight for too long. But still, as he rose, he moved to grab her pack from where it sat and take it with them. He saw Ravan's there, beside it, and with something of a choked growl, he started stomping on it, over and over again, and he would kill him.

He would kill Ravan.

He had to.

For Haven.

His father was very busy on the hole when he found the others and, with the other two shoves, Lily in his full form and Freed assisted, Elfman tagging in at times as Laxus stood about, walking around. Nervous, almost, it felt like.

None of them had slept well in days and everything was in autopilot then. Falling down once more, now that he was back with the others, Locke sat Haven's pack beside him, staring down at it. No one seemed to notice him or care about his actions. They were all absorbed in their own.

Slowly, he opened it and, as the wind blew around him, he remembered doing the same, in Crocus. Seeing her plans there. Stopping them. If he hadn't...if he'd let her go through with it...maybe she'd be rotting away in a prison cell right now instead of…

He found lots of med stuff and the lacrima, all of which he took out, digging deeper. Clothes. Jewels. Not many. Maps and papers. Beneath that though, he was surprised to find little folded up sheets of paper. He recognized some immediately. All the envelopes were gone, but the actual letters, some from him, others from her family, were all there. Folded and creased multiple times as she'd gone of them more than once and it hurt. It all fucking hurt so much.

The sun was beginning to set when the men had an deep enough hole and Laxus felt himself start to hyperventilate a bit, when he went to stare down into it, just from the thought of it. Putting her in there. He wasn't going to be able to. He couldn't he had to...he had to...do something. Else. Something.

They took a break though, the others did, before...before. And everyone was kind of standing around, feeling numb, as Locke only sat there, going through the letters he'd written her, thinking about what Haven thought or felt, when she read them. Wondered how many times she did. He'd worried in the past that she really didn't. Skimmed it at most. But all the creases told him she'd been just as obsessed with them as he was with the ones she'd sent.

"Should we...say words now?" Pantherlily asked, more to the group as, in his tiny form once more, he was now covered in both grit and blood. Mostly though, his eyes fell on the Master. "Or would you like for us to wait? Not say anything at all?"

Laxus had lost his voice again as his pacing led him to standing over here, staring down. He had nothing to offer anyone.

Coming over as well, Elfman was out of tears, now just sweaty and tired and lost, like them all, but in a different way. Softly, he spoke more to himself than the assortment of guys around as he said, "Haven was such a sweet and good and kind baby. I...I remember how much she liked it. When she was little. When I'd carry her around on my shoulders. She don't like it much now. Or she didn't. I guess. But… I liked it. I'm never gonna have a kid of my own, ya know, and I always kind of thought...well… I love Haven. I don't know what I'm gonna do without her. Even if she wasn't around much now, I could always think of her out there, doing her own thing. Now when I think of her, I guess I'll just...have to think of her being here. And I don't know if I can do that."

It was twinged with awkwardness, the laugh Freed gave then, as he wiped at his brow and grinned solemnly at the muscular man. To him, he remarked, "I remember, once, I asked her why it was that she was so convinced that everyone was out to get her. Why she thought that we all went through so much, for her, only to wanna see her fail. You know what she told me? Haven looked me right in the eyes and asked me why I was asking. And what I was hiding. That, clearly, there had to be a reason I was so interested. She was bright. Even if her ways weren't, at times, she always was."

Pantherlily wiped his paws on his pants then, only serving to get everything all smeared together, but it was no matter as, with a soft grin of his own, he said, "I'll always remember how fearless he was. Haven. We might not always have seen eye to eye, sure, but no one can take that away from her. Ever. Once, I was watching the children and turned my back for a moment, just one, and found that she'd scaled up the little drainage pipe, outside, near where we were playing, to climb it all the way up to the roof. One of the kids had kicked a ball up there. No fear. Never. Didn't want things the easy way, either. Could have just asked me to fly up there. I would have. But no. Haven decided she was going to get it, on her own, so that's what she did. She was hardheaded, but...but she lived her own way. Always. And you can't fault someone for that."

Everyone could nod along with that. Agree with it. And, as he stared overhead, at the orange light the sunset cast on them, Gajeel ran a tongue over his teeth as he said, "I didn't like her much. Haven. She didn't like me. We were too much alike, I guess. Like ya said, Lily, she'd hardheaded and I… But I don't care none, what nobody says. I trained that kid. Worked with that kid. She was a shit head sometimes, but we all are. She was bad, Haven was, but she was good too. How it should be. I remember, I'll always remember, that day I almost beat the shit outta her. She and Locke and I were trainin' and she was talking shit to me. Some real serious shit and I was so aggravated with her that, when she came at me, I knocked her one good, in the head. Locke, you were pretty pissy at me, remember? But Haven just looked at me, just like her fucking mother, a fucking demon, she told me that she'd get me one day. One day she'd take me out. She swore it, before she ran off, and, well, I laughed then, but seein' that lightin' she had goin', even from a distance… Wish we'dda had a chance, Haven. Just once. 'cause no one had as much drive as you, kid. Not even the fuckin' Salamander. If this didn't get ya, somethin' else wouldda. She never knew when to quit. Didn't care about her own well-being none. She was on a mission. She wanted it. To get stronger. Be the best. And she'd tear us all down. If she could get to it. It's just...a shame. The whole thing. This is a real shame. But fuck it, huh? There's nothing she would have been happier about than this moment. Hearing us all. Talking so good about her. Haven. No one thought higher of her than she did herself and to know that we thought so highly of her… If she's still here right now, she'd probably be smirkin' about it. Sneering. But I don't think none of us would mind, just this once, if she was."

Everyone was looking to him then as silence fell once more, Laxus, but he was still silent and Locke, finally, found his feet. But it wasn't to speak. No. As he walked passed them, he went over to her body then, still as shocked to see her there, so still and peaceful and...and...but he fell to his knees, one last time, and he heard his father grumble his name and saw that Master's fists clinch when he reached down, but Locke take both the pendants that hung around her neck. The gemstone and lightning bolt pendant. As he rose, his red eyes found the Master's and, over Haven's dead body he handed back the bolt with a tremble in his approach.

As Laxus slowly moved to take it, Locke said, "She went to Bosco. Haven did. And got captured. And she didn't tell me it all, but I think… She was real upset with me. And you. For not coming to get her. Because we didn't know."

"What," Laxus whispered as he found his voice once more, "are you talking about?"

But Locke merely shook his head. "I promised her I'd come. If she ever needed me. And I came, this time, and she still fucking died. I couldn't save her. Help her. I-"

"It's not your fault. Locke." Lily couldn't look at him though. "You can't heal something like that. None of this is your fault."

"I know." He swallowed some, glancing around at the others before saying, "It's Ravan's."

"Locke," his father warned, but this hadn't worked all day. No. His father had no hold on him any longer.

"She was going to stay with me." As he dropped his hand, clutching the gemstone in his hand, his eyes fell down, away from Laxus and to his daughter, there. Dead. Dead. Dead. "We were going to live together and figure shit out. Then Ravan came back and took her on this stupid… And he left. He left her. To die. After making her come out here. After tricking her into coming out here. Haven shouldn't be dead. He should."

But no one there really had any allegiance to the other guy. At all. The only one who might take up his cause was lying between her father and boyfriend, dead.

Locke brought the necklace up then, to his face, glancing from it to Haven. Then, softly, he said, "I remember it all. All of it. Especially this. I'll never forget this. And I'll never forgive him."

There was nothing for Laxus to share. To say. He didn't want to. Not to them. These people. Even his brother-in-law and his brother in spirit, Freed. No. Nothing that he said would make a difference and all the things they were feeling then, even Locke, paled in comparison to him. What he felt. What he was thinking. Remembering. Recalling. Haven was his child. His baby. She changed him, completely, and to know that he was never going to get a chance at it, to make up with her…

The last thing he said to her, threatened her, really, about hanging around his guildhall…

It would have been better had she died, somewhere far off. Years ago. Before he ever saw her again. While she was out in Fiore. Before Crocus. Maybe even the second she left Magnolia. Just long enough to read his letter. If he was never going to get a chance to make up with her, to see her grown, matured, in a stable life, then he'd have rather those been the last words that he imparted on her.

For someone who lost so much in his life, who had so many people die, leave him, how could he have been so foolish? So stupid? To not have realized how close Haven always was, honestly, to this. To ending up like this. Why didn't he just ask her to come back? To stay? Why? She was the one person in his life that he wanted, deep down, to want him. To like him. To care about him. The same way he did her. The same way he loved her. He drank so he didn't think about it, so he didn't think about a lot of things, but mostly, he just wanted he and Haven to talk again. Just talk. Normal. Not yell or snap or even say something sentimental or loving or any of that.

He just wanted to talk to his daughter again.

Even just about the weather.

Over a beer, maybe.

Or at the kitchen table.

Over dinner.

He'd had so many chances to just end things. Why? Why did he have to be such a fucking child about everything? Huh? Haven was a brat, fine, she'd always been one, but he could have just sucked it up.

He could have apologized. For whatever it was that he'd done. It didn't matter.

He'd say it now. If it made her feel better. If it woke her up. If it changed things. Fixed them.

Because he was sorry.

He was.

Haven.

Laxus was so fucking sorry.

Gajeel said something about how he shouldn't be the one to put her down there, in the ground, but Laxus wanted to lift Haven, one last time, into her arms and Locke couldn't want. Turned his back to the scene as Freed stood in the grave, helping Laxus to lower her down.

"She's finally," the rune mage offered them all as he climbed out and left the woman behind, "at rest."

She never had been before.

They all hoped she found it much better than she did the rest of life.

Laxus walked away, when they started to toss the dirt over her. He disappeared, into the forest, and no one went after him. When he returned, it was with a large stone, which he tossed to the ground before holding his hand out.

It scared him a bit, Pantherlily, who was supervising the three men as they tossed dirt over the girl, Elfman crying while Freed and Gajeel just tried to toss the morbid feelings away, when Laxus shot lightning into the stone. Carving into it. As thunder boomed over head, he didn't write a date or a name. No. Just a simple zigzag across the stone. A lightning bolt.

When they were done and the hole was filled and Haven was separated from them, he carried the heavy stone over to the head of the grave, sticking it in the ground. Without being prompted, Gajeel turned his hand into a mallet and drove it into the ground for his Master, shaking it once, to be certain it was steady.

There was exhaustion, in the others, and after sitting around for a bit, following this, Freed finally made mention of something.

"We must get back," he told Laxus gently. "Before… If Ravan heads home… We do not wish for him to be the one to-"

"You're right." Laxus still felt a tug in his heart. A desire. To not leave. To stay. Forever. There. But he knew he couldn't. He had to get home, before Ravan did. To tell Mirajane. So someone else didn't carry that burden. "It's time to go."

Elfman cried again, one last time, and Freed stood beside him, patting at his shoulders. Gajeel and Lily thought, again, to give the family a moment, but Locke wouldn't budge. Just stood there now. Over her makeshift grave, clutching their shared, first reward from the first, real, serious job they'd ever taken.

After patting at the rough gravestone Laxus had crafted, Elfman whispered his goodbyes before turning to walk off. He knew he had to get home. To his sister. And Ever...Lisanna… He had to be strong, when he got there. A man. He'd have to help them through this.

Laxus just wanted it to be over. Finally. All of it. To just end. He needed a drink and to be home. Where he could grieve. Truly grieve.

He needed to be alone.

So he walked on after that, without saying anything to her, trapped beneath the ground. He knew it would do no good, even if he did. Haven wasn't there anymore. She was gone.

Gajeel looked to the cat, thinking he would have to be the one, to get Locke to come on. To follow. But no. As they stood there, over her, just the two of them, Freed offered something to him in place of the blonde.

"She lived as she died," he told him simply. "How we all should go. Valorous. Brave. Courageous. But true to herself. Always. Haven changed for no one. Her entire life. Maybe every choice she made wasn't the right one. Maybe she died with some regrets. But at least she died knowing she never betrayed herself. And surrounded by all those who cared for her most. It will be harder, in the coming days, but eventually, this will bring you some comfort. I assure you."

Locke wasn't so sure. Still, Freed turned to walk off and then he was the only one there, the last one, and softly, he muttered something about how he'd be back, later, before going to gather up her pack stuff and follow along his father and Exceed.

Going on the train in their current state was a none option. They rented a room from an inn and each took turns, showering off. It was kind of awkward, but necessary, if they were going to get on a train. It was a long, silent hike to a station, which they got to at the next day break.

Laxus didn't even feel sick, when this happen. He was already feeling so low. Most everyone was so exhausted that, on the train, they all slept for the duration.

When Locke awoke, it was with a start and he wanted it off of him. Her blood. He panicked some, blinking in fear to find none of it there anyways and Lily just whispered things softly to him until he settled out once more, resting his head against the window beside him, and stared miserably out as the passing scenery.

No one was in a good place when they made it back to Magnolia. Freed mentioned something about how he should head on, on the train, if Laxus would allow for it. Following Erza's involvement, he'd learned a bit about the gauntlet and knew Haven and Ravan had been in contact with some administrators for it and felt like he should inform them, of her death. Laxus agreed, but mostly because he wanted the least people around as possible.

He was dead, inside and out.

"I should go see my sis," Elfman whispered softly as they stood around the station. As a group. "What day is it? Do you think Mira will be...working? Or-"

"Go tell the others. If they're not at the hall. They should hear it from one of us," Freed told him before he went to get a new ticket and head out on his ways. "Bickslow, Lisanna. Evergreen. Don't let them hear it from someone else. Laxus...Laxus should speak with..."

He was.

He knew Mirajane would be at the guildhall. She had to be. She'd know he'd come there first, following all that happened, and was probably waiting for...for...for…

"We should go home. See your mother," Gajeel tried to tell Locke, but fuck that.

He was going to the hall.

Pantherlily and his father reluctantly followed.

Everything seemed so normal. There. At the hall. Even from the outside, there were just people freely milling about and it was obvious that no one knew. So Ravan hadn't been around. Hadn't told anyone. People even called out to them, as they came through the doors. But Laxus' eyes only fell to one person as Locke's found another.

"Laxus!" Mirajane beamed at him as he slunk over to her, his face dark, but that wasn't too odd, his wife felt. At all. She had an empty serving tray under her arm and was just so happy. So excited. To see him. "You're back. Where's-"

"Mira." He grabbed her arm, stiffly, pulling her to him. "We need to go somewhere. To talk."

"About what?"

"Now."

"Laxus-"

"Mira, I'm telling you, come into my office with me. Now. Or come home. Please. We have to talk about-"

"Where's Haven?"

"Mira-"

"Where," she demanded and she was trying to jerk her arm away then, but he had a vice grip on it, "is Haven, Laxus?"

"Demon..."

"Where?"

"We need to be alone."

"Tell me. Laxus. Tell me. Where's Haven?"

But he couldn't say.

Something was brewing though, over his shoulder, as Kai and Marin sat beside Erza, him happily discussing the winter fishing scene as the two women sat beside, all eating their dinner together as the youngest Dreyar daughter took her break. Marin had been quite worried, the past few days, but Kai's mindless chatter had a way of draining fear from her. He was so carefree, it was hard not to be the same around him.

When Locke approached their table, Kai had something of a greeting on his tongue, for the older guy, but it died in his throat as the elder grabbed his roughly and threw him from his chiar.

"Hey!" Marin stared in shock at Locke who only lorded over the younger guy, fists clinched and jaw set. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'll fucking kill your brother, Kai, and you, if I ever fucking see him in this hall again. You hear me?"

"W-What?" Confused, Kai looked from Locke to Gajeel, who was rushing over to place a hand on his son's shoulder. "What happened? I don't know anything about-"

"Leave him alone!" Marin was up then too, to stand between the two guys, and she looked deadly then, a glare in her eye aimed at Locke for the first time in her life. But no one hurt Kai. No one. "What's wrong with you? Huh? What-"

"Laxus! Tell me!" Mirajane's crying was heard then and Laxus wasn't just gripping her arm, over by the bar, but having to hold her up, truly, as she knew, she could tell, as he just shook his head at his wife's question. "No. Laxus. You were supposed to bring her home."

"What's going on?" The bar was falling silent, but Erza only stood, questioning this from anyone who had an answer. "Tell me. What has happened?" Then, glaring at Gajeel, she asked, "Where's Ravan?"

But no one would answer her. And Locke didn't even glance her way. Or at Marin. Glaring over her shoulder, he said to Kai, "I'll kill him. You hear me? So tell your fucking brother he doesn't belong here."

"Leave him alone!" Marin pressed both hands into Locke's chest, shoving him away, and he only snorted in response.

"Locke!" That was one voice that could stop him. He swallowed some as he found that his mother wasn't at home; she was there and coming over. When she tugged at his arm, he only turned his dark eyes onto her. Levy frowned some and maybe it was already clear, maybe it wasn't, but still found herself asking, "What's going on?"

"Haven's dead." A hush fell over them all, at Locke's words, save Mira's sobs into Laxus chest. Still, Locke only looked back over at Kai, gaze hard as he added, "And it's your fucking brother's fault."

"That's not true!" Kai shoved up then as Marin felt weak and looked all about, as if she'd see her sister somewhere, there, somewhere, because that couldn't be true. No way was that true. Kai was glaring though, at Locke, as he insisted, "My brother didn't do anything! You're a liar! Shut up, Locke! You're...you're… You're lying!"

"Where's Ravan? Someone one tell me. Now! Where is Ravan?"

Erza swallowed heavily at still being given no answer. Shaking her head, she turned then to run from the hall. She had to find him. Get to him. No matter what happened, what the truth was, she needed Ravan. To know where he was. His safety, regardless of Locke's words, meant more to her than anything.

The air was heavy in the hall and Laxus was finally getting Mirajane to move with him, out of the bar area and to the back. Away from the others. All of them. Like he'd wanted to begin with.

Locke stared after Erza for a moment and when he looked back, Kai was just standing there, tears in his eyes already, and Marin was standing at his side, them falling from her own and he felt horrible. On top of all the shit he already was going through. Kai was just a boy and Marin was Haven's little sister. His little sister, almost and he reached out for her then, to try and explain, but Marin was turning to Kai instead and Gajeel grabbed him tightly that time, dragging him away.

"You need to leave," he told his son as questions were flying around the bar then. "Now."

He drug him outside, Levy and Lily following, and when Locke broke away from him, he didn't try and enter once more. No. He did need to leave. He needed to get far away. From all of them. He needed to be alone.

But no one wanted him left alone.

"Go with him," Levy told Pantherlily as, sprouting his wings, he flew after Locke. She was still in something of shock, honestly, and it hadn't hit her really, what all had gone on, but as she stood by her husband, she did feel something start to turn inside of her as realization set in. Swallowing, she added, "And bring him back home. Our home."

Locke ran for awhile thought, dodging people in the early evening as he escaped the city, Lily following faithfully behind him, just to get away from it. All of it. All of them. It was only once he reached the safety of the woods that he stopped and even then, he only slammed his fist again and against into a tree trunk as, slowly, Lily landed in the grass nearby.

"He killed her," Locke insisted to him eventually, but only once his knuckles were bloodied and the pain in them outweighed the one in his heart. "Ravan. He killed Haven. It's fault. It's all his fault."

"I know." Nodding his head, Pantherlily offered no defense. "I know."

The Exceed convinced him, eventually, that it would be better for him, if he went back home, to his parents. At least for the night. Being around other people would be helpful, the Exceed insisted, but Locke knew they just didn't want him to do something stupid.

Pain was harder to escape though, there, as Haven was entrenched far more in that house, to him, than she was his apartment. He felt wrong and incomplete as his mother held him and sobbed into his neck and his father kept giving him these...looks and it was just horrible.

He wanted to go to bed.

But it wasn't as if things were much better there. His childhood bedroom was pretty intact, save a few things his mother or father had tossed in there now that he wasn't around to use it, and when, after tossing a box of things to the floor, he fell into his bed, it was hard not to note he was doing it alone.

Back at the guildhall, Laxus kept waiting for Marin to come join them. In the office. As Mira kept crying and he tried, softly, to explain to her what he could, he wanted his daughter there as well. Had someone been around, like Ever or Lisanna, this would have happened. They would have sent her there. But Marin was left alone, in the bar area, and as everything kind of came crashing down, Kinana came to tell her that she was going to close the bar for the day and that she should go be with her parents, but Marin didn't want to.

At all.

Kinana couldn't force her.

Her aunts or uncles could, but not Kinana.

No.

"We should go home," Kai said through his tears and Marin agreed, wiping at her own. "Erza will know what to do."

Because neither could believe what they'd been told. At all. Marin knew her sister couldn't be dead and Kai knew his brother couldn't have had something to do with it.

The woman was at the house when they got there, pacing about as she waited for him to call for her, on the lacrima. Erza was a wreck as she was whispering to herself softly and was all jittery. Concerned. At the sight of the teens though, she only came to toss her arms around both of them with a long sigh.

"Haven can't be dead," Kai insisted to her and he sounded sure of it. "Her dad was there and Ravan and Freed and… Erza..."

"I don't know, Kai, anymore than you do," she sighed as Marin leaned into her cool armor and tried to imagine it. What it would mean. If her sister was...if she was...dead. But she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried.

Maybe Haven was gone now, a lot, fine, but the idea of never seeing her again, not hearing her voice again, listening to her talk about all the fantastical things she'd done that, even if they were embellished, made Marin feel like she'd been there too. Almost. Kind of. She could picture it, anyways.

Haven couldn't be dead because if she was that meant that Marin didn't have an older sister anymore and if she didn't have an older sister any more, then who was going to tell her to get stronger? Who was going to gripe when she didn't? Who was going to tell her that working at the bar was lame and that she was lame and look, Marin, at this new spell I learned. Bet you wish you could learn something cool like that, huh? Cheater magic. Marin had cheater magic and Haven didn't need that to get strong and be amazing and great and she was going to be someone, one day, and people would talk about her, just as much as they did the Salamander or their mother or their father or Erza or...or…

"Haven's dead." She lifted her head then, to stare up at Erza. Blinking back her tears, she said, "Locke wouldn't lie about that. Maybe about Ravan, but not… She's dead."

Dropping her arm from around Kai, both of Erza's came to cup Marin's cheeks and, nodding slightly, she could only whisper, "Yes. She is," because it was rather obvious and to pretend as otherwise did none of them any good. Still, softly, she wrapped both arms around the teen as, finally, Marin truly cried, really, the shoulder shaking, breath gasping kind, and she didn't have an older sister anymore.

She never would again.

Elfman wished though, that it wasn't true. That he wasn't bearing that knowledge. That he hadn't been there, with them, when it happened. So he didn't have to be the one to tell the women. He went home first, where he found Evergreen drinking and flipping through a magazine. He just stood there, looming, in the doorway of their dining room, watching her. Silent.

Eventually, this annoyed the woman and when she called out for him to either come in or go away, he started again. Crying. He thought he was out of tears, but this was far from the case and when she frowned, questioning what was wrong now, Ever took note of the sound. It wasn't his usual, overly dramatic tears then, no. These were sobs. Deep and full of mourning.

It was weird. Evergreen never really considered it, honestly. What it would mean. If something ever happened to one of them. Marin and Haven. She'd never really liked kids, never wanted them, and had never had them. The perfect life. She wasn't married to their uncle and had no true blood relation to their father, but she'd felt like an aunt towards each of them and acted as such since the moment they were born. Haven, somewhere along the way, they lost base with one another. Yes. That was a good way of putting it. Their personalities just clashed was all. They were alike, really, in certain ways, as they took enjoyment in depreciating the value of those around them, this attitude rubbed Ever the wrong way on a child. Sardonic on an eight-year-old just felt like brattiness and, well, Ever didn't have time for that.

That didn't mean that she didn't care about Haven. At all. It was just...Evergreen had a hard time openly showing love for those that she'd spent years building relationships with. Displaying interest, even, in Haven was exhausting and she fought those who wanted what was best with her, and they were all excuses, Evergreen felt, every single one of them in that moment as Elfman stood there, crying and explaining and none of them stood up. In her mind.

None of them mattered.

Haven probably died thinking she hated her.

Or worse.

She'd died and not thought about her at all.

"I have," Elfman moaned into his hands, "to go tell Lisanna."

Evergreen nodded some as she stared down into her glass of wine, silent and remorseful.

"I'll go with you," she offered eventually and, well, he needed the support.

The worst case scenario either saw playing out was that Ajax was around. Neither wanted to be there when that went down. But somehow, there was something that was equally as unpleasant.

Bickslow was out. Since Natsu had gone out on a job, the seith had taken his son and the twin Dragneel boys with him, to go train and camp and just hang out.

"Guy stuff," he'd told Lisanna and she was pleased with this because it gave her a chance to be all alone in their cramped little apartment.

She was soaking it in too, when there was a knock at the door. She about didn't answer. She could tell from the heavy knock just who it was and, well, Lisanna didn't want to deal with it. Elfman. She figured he and Evergreen had had a fight and she was sorry for that, but Mirajane was all flustered, down at the bar, waiting for her daughter to come home. Their older sister was definitely the person to deal with the man that day.

"Lisanna," she heard him call out though. "I know you're in there. Open up."

He sounded weepy and, well, it wasn't like she could _completely_ ignore him. She had to at least open the door and tell him to buzz off; she was enjoying her day.

But they were both there. When she opened the door. Elfman looked miserable and Evergreen hadn't cried, not once, but she had this heavy look about her and, well…

"What happened?" Lisanna asked as her thoughts immediately went to her husband and son. But Elfman just shook his head some and opened his mouth, trying to speak, but it was just too hard. He didn't want to do it again.

"Come here." Evergreen gently pushed passed the woman and into the apartment. "We have to talk."

For the longest time, Haven was a daughter to Lisanna. As much as Mirajane or Laxus. He was gone a lot, when she was a baby and, once, for an entire year. Lisanna was there with her sister, every night, keeping the baby and holding down the fort. It wasn't until eh had a son of her own, really, that she felt that distance between she and both girls, honestly. That they became more like what a niece should be, rather than daughters.

Still, there wasn't that distrust or resentment from Haven. Not towards Lisanna. Or Elfman. She felt her mother's disappointment, her father's rage, and his body guard's annoyances with her, but Lisanna and Elfman never gave off that vibe towards Haven. They had none of it. Sure, they thought she had an attitude, young, and was a bit aggressive, when she grew, but Elfman and Lisanna always just seemed happy to see her. Pleased she was doing okay.

Lisanna was always optimistic. Always. And out of everyone in Haven's life, she always knew the girl would turn it around. Become something. Anything, really. And though she was sad to see her go, she was kind of glad, too. She'd never done it. After Edolas, she couldn't. Leave her brother and sister. Fairy Tail. Her home.

But Haven left. Found her own way. And there was something so fitting in that. She would have liked a letter or a call, but she was fine with giving Haven space. Letting her grow.

Maybe though...maybe...they'd let her grow too far, too fast.

At the sight of his younger sister crying, all Elfman could think about was his older one. And, though he wanted to stay, he left Lisanna with Evergreen after awhile, to go check on her. Mirajane.

Things had gone south, as he found out, pretty quickly between she and Laxus.

She kept asking questions, about everything, and was crying, and he could tell they were alone, finally, as the noise in the bar was still, and eventually, she didn't want to be held anymore. She didn't want to cry anymore.

Her questions were fed now by anger.

"Why did I let you go?" And Mirajane trained less then him, in those days, but her energy was oozing out of her then as, turning away from him, she clenched a fist. "I should have gone. I should have-"

"There was nothing you could of done, Mira. There was nothing I could do. There wasn't-"

"Shut up, Laxus."

"I told you, by the time I got there it was...it was too-"

"I would have. Saved her. I would-"

"If I couldn't do it," he asked and he was kind of angry too, yeah, because he hadn't had a drink and his daughter was dead and she was questioning him too much and his daughter was dead and she was dead and she was dead and she was… "Why do you think you could have done anything?"

But Mirajane just shook her head, seething then as her tears dried. "I told you to bring her back, Laxus."

"You don't think I tried? Huh? You think I'm happy about this? That I'm not hurting? Fuck, Mira, I just buried her! Stop questioning me! Just...get out. I need-"

"A drink?"

She didn't have to turn around to see him going over to his desk, to get just that. He snorted though, at the accusation, as he picked up the bottle of whiskey on his desk.

"I always listened to you," she accused softly then, "about Haven. I always let you decided what we'd...but..." Choking then at the thought, her hand came up to cover her mouth and she felt it again. The pain coming back. To wash back out the anger. She felt like she was going to faint. "My daughter's dead."

"Yeah." He didn't worry about a glass. Laxus took a swig straight from the bottle. "So is mine."

Mirajane left him, eventually, and went home. She had to find Marin, she decided, and though the girl would have headed there. Laxus didn't go with her and offered no explanation for why, but it was for the best; Mira didn't want to have to tell him she didn't want him there.

Her chest ached, as she came into the empty house. Not because her youngest wasn't there, but because she could remember it, clear as day, just a few weeks before, when Haven came back home. Standing there. In the living room. And she'd been the one to say it, Haven had, that they could go out together. To lunch. Another time. Later. That last day Mira saw her. She knew, somehow, that the girl was lying in that moment, but still kind of hoped...thought...that maybe…

The house was dark and she didn't even call out for her. Marin. She could tell she wasn't around. It was almost like a specter that Mira moved through the house and to the kitchen, mindless and aimless. Not even flicking on the light, she just stood in the doorway for a moment and it felt like, if she just closed her eyes tightly enough, she could hear them all there. Marin, Laxus, and Haven, all three of them, with her, in the kitchen.

She'd make breakfast for them each morning, growing up and was almost always the one to cook dinner, after she stopped taking such long hours at the bar. They spent so much time there, all four of them, and if she just closed her eyes…

But when she opened them, she saw the box of stuff, she couldn't even recall what it was now, that she'd ordered and had to move, the day Haven returned home, out of her chair. So the girl could have a seat. Her seat. Mirajane had put it back there once more, when Haven left, because...because…

She knocked it then, hard, from the seat and the box and it's contents went spilling across the kitchen as the tears were hot now, no longer out of shock, but rather sharp realization and understand of all that had gone on. As she fell to the floor, beside the chair, Mira wept like she hadn't since she was a teen. When Lisanna was taken from her. Perhaps even harder.

You couldn't measure one pain against the other. You really couldn't. Time made pain feel lesser, when looking back on it, so she was sure it had stung just as much, when she thought her brother had killed her sister. Really, she was sure of it.

But it didn't feel that way.

Because Haven was a part of her. A huge part. Literally and figuratively. Sometimes, Mira could admit, as she wept into her palms, the girl was a bit of nuisance, growing up, and even then, but never had she once considered it. Her not being there. Even in the worst moments, like when Laxus was gone for a year or when Haven was absolutely tormenting her sister or when she was reigning terror on the hall, Mirajane never once thought she'd ever not have her there.

When she left, what was years ago now, Mira knew, but felt just like yesterday, she thought that was the most pain she would get from either of her daughters. Haven was going off to find herself and Mirajane was worried over what she'd return as. She knew, of course, all the risks that came with Haven's lifestyle and knew that there was a chance...that maybe one day…

But she'd been so well. And happy. When she'd come home. In time for her birthday and the festival and Mira thought that maybe, if she prayed hard enough, if she cried long enough…

"She's too young," she cried, lifting her head up. "Anyone else. Please. Just...just for a while longer. Please… Please? I'll do anything."

But there was nothing she could do.

Her brother didn't knock before he entered. After finding his brother-in-law drinking and throwing bottles around, in his office, Elfman knew where to find his sister. She was still just sitting there, on the kitchen floor, crying.

But it didn't spark tears from the man. Not this time. Instead, as Mirajane rose, wiping at her eyes, he only pulled his sister to him and insisted, softly, "We'll get through this, Mira. I promise."

And she knew they would. They always would.

But...this time...she wasn't so sure she wanted to.

Erza sat up the whole night, at her desk, beside the lacrima. Waiting. Kai and Marin had long fallen asleep, out in the living room, beside one another on the couch, but Erza couldn't find it. No. She felt for Haven, she truly did, but Ravan was her main concern.

She must have fallen asleep, with her head in her hand, because it was confusing momentarily, the sound of the lacrima. Blinking away the the sleep, she was quick to turn it on and then, the light blinding her eyes somewhat, she was staring at him there, in the orb.

"Erza..." She'd never heard him sound so pitiful. Not even in the hospital following his lacrima incident. "I need you."

Nodding, the woman said simply, "Tell me where you are."

It wouldn't be until the next morning that she could do anything. Leave. But Erza told him before he disappeared from the crystal that he had to stay where he was and not do anything. She would come to him as soon as possible.

In the light of dawn, she prepared to head out to where he'd run off. In her scheme, she planned to just leave them behind. Marin and Kai. She thought they would go to the Dreyar's, more than likely. Or perhaps she'd leave it to them in a note.

But she was unable to make a clean escape. Mainly because there was a loud knocking at the front door that awoke both teens.

Marin was confused, for a moment, about where she was. As she rubbed at her eyes and saw the light outside, she panicked, at first, as Kai only yawned, because she was late for work and oh no, what if no one else was there to open the guild and she was going to get in trouble and she had to hurry.

Jumping up in her stupor, she rushed to open the front door only to find her aunt standing there. Evergreen. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was wearing huge sunglasses that hid the entirety of her face's top half.

Still, from behind them, she blinked some before frowning for a different reason.

"Marin," she whispered, having expected Erza to open the door. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you?"

That came from Erza though, the woman coming into the room with a glare. She knew. Oh, she knew. The night had been calm as the man processed things, but now, Laxus was going to begin gunning for her son and, already, sent his henchmen to do the dirty work.

Shaking her head some, Evergreen leveled her gaze behind her sunglasses and said simply, "Freed and Bickslow are both out."

Which meant it was up to her, after leaving Lisanna's, to go to Laxus. To check on Laxus. The Strauss siblings had one another and together, they all had each other, but things were different. At the moment. Evergreen knew where she was needed.

"I want," the overly inebriated Laxus told her that night as she tiredly swept up at glass from all the bottles he'd broken, knowing if she didn't, Marin would eventually have to, "him brought to me. Ravan. Erza's not going to shield him. He's mine."

With the guys gone, it was Ever's job to be certain this happened.

Erza nodded a bit, at the woman's statement, before saying simply, "He's not here."

"Don't lie to me."

"Who?" Kai, actually, liked both women. A lot. Erza more, of course, but Evergreen was special to him too and he had a sick feeling his stomach that he knew who she was after. Still, he tried, "Who are you guys looking for? The person who killed… Because-"

"Go to your room. Kai. Marin." Erza crossed her arms over her chest as she returned Evergreen's gaze. "This doesn't concern-"

"Ravan didn't do anything!" Kai wasn't going to let them say otherwise, either. "Right, Marin? We know he didn't. Ever. And you believe us, don't you?"

Marin was still just standing there, in front of her aunt, but her eyes were down at the ground. "W-Well...Aunt Ever-"

"You need to be with your mother," was all she told her niece, eyes still trained on the other woman. "Go. Now."

"Marin's not going anywhere." Kai was still staring at her. She could feel it. "Are you? Marin?"

"I..."

"I am going to get him," Erza spoke once more, then. She really didn't want to see the children dragged into the middle of things. "I will speak with Ravan."

"You will bring him," Evergreen retorted, "to his master. Immediately. That's an order. Directly from Laxus. And you wouldn't defy an order, would you, Erza?"

"If it was unjust-"

"What's unjust about hearing all sides of a story? Your son ran off, during the middle of a battle, and left one of his guild members-"

"Haven," Erza said and the name felt much heavier, that morning, "did not die a member of Fairy Tail."

Her hand came up then, Evergreen's did, to adjust her glasses, but she didn't lower then. Just took a sharp intake of breath before saying, "You will bring him to the guildhall. To face his judgment. From his master. So do it. You don't want Laxus to send the Thunder Legion after him."

"Why are you being like this?" Kai felt his tears spring to his eyes again and he was running after her then, Evergreen, as she turned to walk away. She was always cold, always, but not to him. Not in a serious way. She and Elfman were like his aunt and uncle too. He considered them that. But here she was, just casting his brother, his only blood, to the wolves… "Evergreen, Ravan didn't do anything! He wouldn't!"

But it was to Marin though, that she called over her shoulder, "Go home. To your mother. Immediately."

Letting her go, Kai turned back, into the house, to glance at Marin before at Erza. Eyes wide, he only asked the swordswoman, "When do we leave?"

The train ride was awkward, to say the least. Marin felt uncomfortable, as she always did these days, on trains, and Kai only sat there, silent for once, as he held her hand and worried over his brother. Erza tried a few times to find something to say to them, both of them, but she still wasn't back to her full self yet, was still healing, and the past day had taken a lot out of her.

She imagined the one awaiting them at the end of their ride wouldn't be much better.

Ravan was awaiting them, outside the inn, sitting and smoking as he sat on a half all that surrounded the property. He'd fled the surrounding area, where Haven had…but looked no better, neither removed from the area nor the situation. Still, his younger brother ran to him, calling out his name down the street and Mari seemed hesitant before she did the same, standing at both boys' side as Ravan dropped his smoke and actually returned Kai's hug.

"I was so scared," Kai whispered as he held onto his brother tightly. "Ravan."

But his eyes were only on Marin's, kind of surprised to see her and yet, at the same time, not at all. Eventually, Kai released him and, when she moved to take his place, Ravan slowly welcomed that as well.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly to her. "I didn't mean… Marin, I..."

"It's okay." Marin sniffled, softly, before adding, "Haven loves you."

He doubted it, really, Ravan did, but if she did, then she really shouldn't.

His eyes fell to the swordswoman then, as she approached, and as they fell instead, he only let Marin go so he could address the woman.

"You have a room here? At the inn?" she questioned and, when he nodded, she spoke to his brother instead. "Kai, go get one for you and Marin. Here. I will give you the jewels. Your brother and I need to be alone."

The second this was done and she was there, with the man, in his hotel room, Erza ordered him to show him any wounds he'd acquired. He had many, but knew the most severe and, slowly, he pulled his shirt over his head, showing her the slashes Haven had attempted to stitch together.

"You must," Erza sighed, noting the coloration, "visit a doctor."

He nodded some before whispering, "Haven did them. For me. She's… Erza is she really..."

At the woman's own nod, he lost it. He'd never cried so unabashedly in front of the woman and, when he fell back onto the end of one of the beds, Erza didn't rebuke him. Merely came to sit beside him, silent as he clinched a fist and brought it down, again and again, into his thigh.

"I just wanted," he told her through sucked in teeth, "us to be together. That's it. That's all I ever wanted. For us both to get strong and we'd...we'd… It should have been me. It should have been me. It-"

"Ravan, stop."

"No!" Jumping back up, he couldn't stop it. His breathing. It was becoming erratic and, as his vision blurred, he said, "I should have died, Erza. It was coming for me. It was going to hit me. I...I phased through it. The blast. And let it hit her. I let it hit Haven. And then I ran. Liked a coward. I'm such a fucking coward. I got scared and I wasn't there with her and… I wish I was dead. I wish I was fucking dead. Instead of her. I should be. I should be. I-"

"Ravan, listen to me."

"No! I-"

"_Listen_." She went to grab his face in her hands and he was taller than her now, but still, he felt like a little boy again, being dressed down by a parent. As Erza stared into his eyes, it was with intent. "I am so glad it was her. If it had to be one of you, then let it be Haven. I am sorry for her family and I will grieve with them, but I never want to hear you say that again. Do you hear me?"

"Haven was so good, Erza, and I'm-"

"You're good."

"No, I-"

"You," she insisted, "are good. And you are alive for a reason. I cannot tell you it, but I know it. Haven was...a lot of things, but if I had to choose, between the two of you, I would take you. Every single time. I...If I lost you, one of the two of you… I do not know how the Master and Mirajane will handle it, but I know that I could not. But my sorrow and sadness for the Dreyars does not overtake the joy I have, the relief, to find you here. Well. Your friend is dead, but you live. So live. And never wish your own death again or else you waste your friend's memory. Do you understand?"

But he couldn't say anything and as his head fell, he rested it against her shoulder, the coolness of her armor a comfort, familiar, and Erza only held him there as she breathed deeply, multiple times, to calm herself.

Yes.

These next few days would take much out of her.

Eventually, she sent the boys out to seek a medic, instruction Kai to keep a close eye on his brother and to try and not bother him too much.

"Marin and I will be here when you both return," she told them with a sharp nod. To Marin, after they were gone, she merely explained, "They're brothers. They'll help one another… Oh, Marin, I-"

"It's alright," she assured the woman, but couldn't fake a smile as Erza merely came to pat her on the head. "They will help one another heal."

But as they sat together, some time later, in a waiting room, Kai found it was kind of awkward between the two of them. They just sat there, silently, and he really, really didn't want to be annoying, but at the same time…

"Can I tell you something?" he asked Ravan softly, fearfully. "And you won't get mad? It's about Haven."

Ravan shrugged, not looking at him, and he had his bandanna around his mouth again, as he glanced around the room at others waiting.

"I'm really sorry about it all. Ravan. Really. About…Haven." He swallowed, saying her name, but his brother only nodded at his words. At this, Kai went on. "But, I kinda...when I found out that the two of you went away together… I thought that maybe you'd run off, you know? To get married? It made me happy to think about, anyways, because I know that you had a thing for her and then Marin and I would really be siblings and now… I'm sorry. I shouldn've said nothin', I know, but I was just-"

"We slept together."

"What?"

Ravan nodded again, thinking of it. He expected it to upset him, to bother him, to make him realize that not only would he never have it again, but it was because of that, at least partially, that things had all gone to shit. Instead though, it gave him thoughts of how happy he was, that night, and how he thought that his life could never get better.

Now it really couldn't.

And Kai smiled, for the first time, and maybe they were both delirious, probably, from the trauma and lack of sleep, but…

"I'm glad you're okay, Ravan."

He nodded again, at his brother's words, before saying, "Me too."

Things were still crashing down though, back in Magnolia. Bickslow and Ajax came back to town hoping to snag a job, together, but it wasn't in the cards. When they got to the guildhall with the twin Dragneel boys, it was to find it closed and, after siding the twins on their way, back to their own home, Bickslow and Ajax rushed to their own, to find Lisanna and ask about what had gone on.

Neither particularly liked what they learned.

Ajax didn't believe it. He didn't want to. It didn't make any sense. Haven was the strongest person he knew. The smartest. The best. She couldn't lose. Not in battle. Couldn't fail. Couldn't fall. Haven had reached mythos status in his head as her stories always felt so much more real, growing up, because they were being told by someone who was close to his age. Still distant, but close. When his father or uncles or the other people down at the hall recalled cool journeys and adventures, it was difficult to imagine, because they were so old and boring now. But not Haven. Not his cousin. She was out there in the thick of it, right then, in that moment, and he couldn't picture her, not standing there, with electricity jumping from her body and her blonde hair blowing in the wind and Haven meant more to him than anyone.

Anyone.

He'd just…

He'd never known someone before that was like that. Dead.

For a kid who grew up in a household with literal spirits that kept him company, floating about at all times, death was actually rather abstract and strange. Something he'd never experienced. He hadn't so much as had a pet die. And now his cousin, his hero, was just...gone.

"She's, uh, in a better place," his father offered him as he too tried to process the information.

But that couldn't be true.

What place was better than there? With them? Her family?

Navi knew a place. Better than home. Better than her family. She was finding, in that year and some from Crocus, that Haven had the right idea. There was nothing like freedom. Real freedom. Being on your own, in strange places, experiencing things freedom.

And, well, yeah, maybe Navi was kind of a cheater in that regards. She could always just go back home. She did go back home, frequently. If she needed anything. Ran low on jewels. Wanted them. To see them. Be around them. Or just had nothing going on for a few weeks. She felt kind of spoiled, maybe, in that regards. Her jewels that she was making off her publication weren't much, but they were something. She'd probably still have to be taking jobs, at the guild, if she was supporting herself fully, to survive. But that was the thing; rent was no concern because her parents were there, back home, with all her stuff and a place to crash if the magazine check that month wasn't too great.

She told herself that when her actual book got published, which was coming up, soon, very soon, that she'd go ahead and begin to either help them with the rent on their place or move out. Really. She planned to. They weren't pushing it or anything, but she knew that it was time for her to be like Locke and Haven. An adult.

A real one.

But being a spoiled teenager was so much fun…

Her mother had been trying to get a hold of her all day. Navi was out though, instead of in her hotel room, and had no idea her lacrima was continually trying to be connected with. It was the middle of the afternoon when she returned, kind of tipsy from having drinks with some friends she'd made, recently, at lunch, and when she heard the lacrima going off, she almost just ignored it.

Almost.

"Hey, mom!" She tried not to sound too excited, because she didn't want her to worry about her, drinking in the middle of the day and all, but at the same time, she didn't want to sound too much like she was trying to sound that way and it was just a mess, really, but still, Navi waved at the lacrima as she sat before it at the hotel room desk. "Is everything okay? I know I was supposed to get in contact with you, a few days ago, but really, I've been so busy, writing and-"

"Navi." Lucy's tone of voice was enough bring an end to Navi's useless excuses. "Are you alone?"

"Uh, yeah? Should I not be?" Frowning, Navi peered closer at the lacrima. "Have you been crying?"

"You need to come home, okay? Soon? Please? Something happened and-"

"Was it the boys?"

"What? No. It-"

"Dad? Happy? What?"

"Nothing like that. You just need-"

"But what-"

"Your friends… Haven, Locke, and Ravan went on a job together and… I don't know everything, Navi, but Haven got… You should just come home."

She frowned then, the girl did, before asking, "Is she beat up real bad? Or something? Because I really don't think Haven will care if I'm there or not. I mean, I'll write her a letter. Or, oh, is she like Erza? You know, um, gonna be put up for awhile? I'll send her a copy of my-"

"Navi." Her mother's voice was heavy again and she wouldn't meet her eyes. "Just come home."

"But I don't-"

"Haven died. On the job. I don't know anything about it right now, but… You should get home. Before they have the… You should just come home. Please. We'd all like you to come back home."

Navi nodded a bit, at the words, and they didn't really mean much to her. Not as she said goodbye to her mother, not as she packed her things, not as she left her new friends, and not even, really, as she boarded a train back for home. As she sat there though, considering them, she didn't rightly believe them yet.

How could she?

Between the three of them, there was no way that they…

Haven of all people…

Locke could heal anything now. She'd seen it. Her brothers were being dumb, with Ajax, one day up at the hall and Lucky sliced his arm up really badly. Locke healed it perfectly. Not even a scar left behind. If Haven had Locke with her, on top of the power that Ravan was supposed to possess now, how could she have died?

No.

This had to be some kind of a trick. Not on being pulled by her mother, the woman would never do something like that, but by Haven herself. Some kind of game. She was sadistic like that. Get everyone all worried and then shove it in their faces later. Or use it as a chance to escape again, if she got tangled back up with the guild, which clearly she had, if she was hanging around Ravan and Locke. Maybe just to get the two of them off her back, she faked her own death?

The idea was dark and morbid, but it sounded better, anyways, than what her mother had fed her. And Haven was kind of dark now. Morbid maybe. She was roughing it out on the streets, Navi was pretty sure, and last she'd heard, she didn't even have those cute guys she'd had in Crocus. So maybe she came back home to play with her normal two, instead, and something got too real? She needed an escape route?

It both sounded like and didn't sound like Haven and Navi had a pit in her stomach because that was the dumbest thing she'd ever dreamed up and she knew, the second she touched in at home, she'd probably have the full story read to her and how was she going to look at them? Locke? Marin? Haven's family?

You were supposed to apologize for losses such as this, but Navi had never had someone to apologize for. Not really. She had so many dead relatives, but never been to a funeral before. What would she wear? Something black. Dark. A dress? She didn't have one of those. She'd have to go shopping. Or would her mother have something she could borrow?

Would she have to look at her body? Haven's body? Like an open casket thing? Or would it be closed? Was it worse if it was closed? She wasn't so sure she wanted to see her there, dead, lying like that, dead, and not moving, just dead, but, but, but if it was closed that would mean that she was scarred up real bad, right? That an undertaker couldn't even make her presentable? It would have had to be have been something like that, right? If Locke hadn't been able to heal her? And oh, man, Locke, Haven's family was bad enough, but they wouldn't expect much out of her. Wouldn't want much. Maybe Marin, but not the others. No. But Locke, Locke would want to talk about this and that and would be a wreck and what would they do with Ravan? Now? What would any of them do with him?

He never rightly had a place without Haven and now Haven was dead that meant…

"Dead." Navi stared in her reflection of the window and the word felt wrong. Incorrect. Like she'd said the wrong thing. As she formed it again on her lips, she just shook her head some because...because…

"What happened?" was the first thing she asked to her mother when she got home. The woman mets her in the living room, wrapping her arms around her and Navi saw her father sitting there, on the couch, a bit beat up and probably just returned from a job of his own. He just sat there too, staring at her with a grim expression as Happy sat at his side, waving at her slightly, but seeming rather down as well.

"I don't know," Lucy admitted softly and she didn't want to let her daughter go. Into her soft, pink hair, Lucy went on, "I wasn't there, when it… And the hall's closed right now, I guess, until the Master and Mira… Levy told me about it. Haven and Ravan went out on a quest or something, together, and Locke and some of the others went to get her, but… It was too late."

There were questions Navi had, but none her parents could answer and eventually she just went off to her room, to be alone for a bit. Get settled again. Her mother let her go and her father nodded while Happy just waved again, but it was the twins that spoke to her as she passed their bedroom door. Peeking it open, they poked their heads out to stare at her as she walked by. They'd been told to go play, and be quiet about it, but now their sister was home.

"We're sorry, Navi," Iggy called softly and he was cradling his spirit, Hak, in his arms, the little red creature calling out something similar.

"About your friend," Lucky clarified and they knew what happened, kind of, now, but weren't too sure what to think of it. Haven hadn't been a staple in their lives in a long time and, well, death sounded horrible, but at the same time, just too distant and unimaginable to really grasp. Abstract.

"Thanks," she offered back and she smiled for them, sadly, but as she walked into her room, Navi didn't feel that.

Not really. Sad. She felt something, sure, but as she set her stuff down and fell into her bed, sad just wasn't the word for it. She didn't cry. She didn't sob. Which was weird. She cried over everything. Good, bad, everything. But this… It just didn't draw any tears out of her. As she pulled her pillow to her, she just thought, really hard, about Haven and tried to force something out of herself, but it wasn't there.

Not anymore.

"You should go talk to her," Lucy whispered, out in the living room, as she went to take a seat on the couch.

"On it!" And Happy jumped up, to go do that, but Lucy only moved to tug him into her lap with a frown.

"Not," she said as he deflated some, "you."

"But-"

"You, Natsu," she insisted then, instead as the man still just sat there, silently, that same grim look on his face. "You went through the same thing, you know? With...with Lisanna. You lost her at this age too. Go talk to Navi and-"

"There's nothin' I can say, Luce."

"Yes, there is. You-"

"It's not the same."

"Natsu-"

"Death isn't the same. You know that. For people." He shrugged some as his wife's head fell into his shoulder. Looking down at her then, holding Happy, he only moved to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "There's nothing we can do."

Erza felt much the same as night fell and she had dinner with the three children. Children. They were hardly that now. She'd brought them back takeout to Ravan's room and they all sat about, together, the three of them. Her two boys and Marin. Erza knew, as she watched them, that it would be one of the last times that she saw them all together, like this. Morse, sure, but well. Young. Not happy, but content, for the moment.

"You and Marin go back to the other room," she sighed eventually, to Kai, and neither wanted to. Ravan didn't want them to either. Because they all knew. What was coming next. Kai started tearing up again, but an order was an order.

Once they were alone, Erza went around, gathering up all the trash from their meal and Ravan just sat there, on one of the bed, and there was only a lamp on, just one, in the room, and it was getting late, so it was shadowy in the room. How he wanted it.

"Take off your bandanna. I want to see your face."

His last safety blanket.

Slowly, he pulled it off and he remembered, when Haven had it, wrapped around her neck, in the rain, and if he could go back to that moment, he would have cherished it a lot more. Not just because of what the night brought them either. Just because she looked so strong and powerful, in a different way than she had with the God Slayer magic.

Erza sat beside him, on the bed, and as she studied his face, scars and all, she said, "Tell me everything."

So did he did. From the beginning. All of it. Every ounce of it. He felt like he was pouring his heart out, in an attempt at an appeal, but there couldn't be one. She couldn't hand him one. Not even if she felt he deserved it. No. They both knew this was merely for show and the dye had already been cast and it didn't matter. What he said. What she felt.

"Haven was so good," he whispered, again, to the swordswoman. "She was gonna go and try and fix Bosco. Like I said. I've never really even thought about shit like that. But Haven wanted to. With her power. Liberation and all that. Fuck. Erza, I just… I just wanted her to be strong. Like me. That's all. But I fucked it up."

"You've always," she told him with a shake of her head, "misunderstood that. Strength. Do you think that it is my magic? Hmm? That makes me strong? Do you think it's the depth of it? How much I have? Or how I wield it? You've thought since you've gotten this lacrima, Ravan, that your life was going to change somehow. But has it? Only for the worst. You never needed more power, Ravan. You needed more control. More empathy. If you could go back, I'm sure you would save your friend, but if I could, I would slice that lacrima out of you, the second Kai brought me to you, dying, there on my bathroom floor."

"I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize. Not to me." Reaching out, she patted at his cheek. "I had a friend. Once. He meant...everything to me. We had not seen one another in many years, but still, he… I was to die. I would have died. But he stepped in front of a blast. Simon. He… He was special. But he died in my place. Do you not think that it did not keep me up? Each and every night? Wondering if the wrong choice was made? But what can be done? Nothing. Simon is gone. Haven is gone. One day, Ravan, you and I will both be gone. But not yet. Not now. For you and I. And do you think either Haven or Simon would wish for us to mourn? For the rest of our lives? No. They would want us to go on. And I have. I had to. And you must now too. You are about to go through a lot of trials, but… You must proceed. Without thinking back. Without feeling sorry. Nothing you did led to her death. Only her own actions."

"But it was me," he told her. "I was the one who took her there and-"

"And it was you who tried to get her out of there. Who told her not to go on. It was you, fine, who planted the idea in her head, but Haven was the one who allowed it to prosper. Your hubris was not her own. A dangerous combination, the two together, but you are no more at fault for their mixture than she."

Still, he only whispered, "I left. Like a coward. She died without me. She-"

"She died in the arms of her boyfriend with her father and family all about."

For some reason, that hurt even more.

Erza's hand fell from his cheek then as she said, "Take off your shirt once more. Allow me to see your stitches. Did the doctor look at them?"

Ravan breathed it in, for the last time, in the dim lighting, the sight of it there. The emblem on his pec. Immediately he knew, as the swordswoman's eyes fell to it more than his stitches what was coming next.

"Erza, please," he tried, but she wouldn't listen to him.

"You may not return home. Ever. The Master...and Locke… You no longer belong, Ravan. In Fairy Tail."

He never had. He knew it. But it was home and he made the best of it and he never knew what he would do without and it and felt them, the tears for himself now, as they ran hotly down his face.

"Please..."

"Do you know," she whispered softly as she took it in herself, the red marking on his chest, "the story of Phaethon? No? He was the son of Helios, the god of the sun, and one day, he decided, I suppose, to take his father's place. Dragging the chariot of the sun across the land." Raising her hand, she held it over his guild marking as Ravan hardly heard her words, focusing instead on a spot on the wall, anything, anywhere, other than on what was happening. "He wished to prove himself strong. He was warned, many times, that this was dangerous and that he would not be able to. Zeus himself could not. But he persisted, you know, and...and… And as he tried to drag the chariot across the sky, the horses that drew it proved to be too strong and overpowered him. He lost control and was dragging it all about. The sun. Scourging the land. Zeus had to do something, so he struck him down. With a bolt of lightning. Killing him." Her hand swiped quickly over the red emblem and, he blinked, Ravan did. Then it was gone. "What a worthless mission, you would think, yes? Dying by his own foolish pride and hubris. But we remember it not because he died. Because he failed. We remember Phaethon because he dared. Because he tried. Even if it meant his own downfall."

Ravan fell forwards, some, into the woman as he felt weak without it. So weak. Like he'd just lost half his power.

"I wish I could go back," he told her as he cried again, into the woman's shoulder, for the second time that day.

Erza only held him to her as she felt hot tears prick her own eyes. "I wish so too."

It was early, the next morning, when Erza and the two other teens had to leave. She wanted to get them back home, to Marin's family, as she was certain funeral preparations would soon occur. There were many tears that day as well and Marin was the first to hug Ravan goodbye.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to him that time and nuzzled her head into his chest, staining it with her tears. "Ravan. It's not your fault. I don't hate you. And neither does Haven. You shouldn't have to go."

"He shouldn't!"

Kai was a wreck also. When it was his turn to hug his brother, he didn't want to let go. As Marin stepped back, to stand beside Erza once more, Kai wailed loudly into the crisp morning air.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he told his brother. And he hadn't. No way. "You shouldn't have to leave. It's not your fault. Ravan… I'll go with you. I will! Wherever you go! I'll leave Fairy Tail too. I don't even want it without you. You're my brother and I-"

"You," Ravan told him as he patted his brother softly on the back, "have to go back, Kai. To take care of things."

"No. There's nothing. I-"

"Aren't you Marin's brother too?"

"Ravan-"

"She's all alone now. She needs you."

"But so are you! You need me! Please, Ravan, I-"

"Go home, Kai." And he had his bandanna down, so that his brother could see his smile. It felt unnatural in the best of times, honestly, on the man, and gave the teen no comfort. "You belong there. You have your garden and the flowerbeds, right? Up at the hall? And you're dating someone. Did you forget? Not to mention, someone has to make sure Marin and Erza are okay."

"I love you though."

But what did that matter?

Erza and Ravan had more than hugged enough for a lifetime, honestly, those past few hours, but when she wrapped her arms around him that time, she shut her eyes tightly and spoke softly, only to him, as she said, "I will return home. With your brother and sister, but if you would like… I will return. Here. With you. I will leave Fairy Tail and-"

"You can't." He didn't want to let her go though, as she wrapped an arm tightly around his neck and held him close. "You are Fairy Tail."

"The guild is not what it used to be. I see that now, more than ever. Laxus has...perverted it. No. I-"

'You have to stay. I'll… I'll be okay, Erza." And as she pulled back some, to look him in the eyes, she was forced to reconcile with a fact she'd long known, but avoided; he wasn't a boy anymore. "On my own. I'll figure out my own way."

"About that..." Her eyes fell then, beyond him, and Ravan frowned at the expressions he saw on the faces of Marin and Kai as the letter dried his tears. Turning from the woman, he saw then that they were being joined on the still dark and sleepy street by another. The man had his hat pulled low and cloth up around his face, but he was unmistakable.

"Do you secretly follow me about?" Erza called out to the man as he approached, alone. "Is that how your timing is always so impeccable?"

"You so rarely call in favors," Jellal replied as, closer now, he tugged the cloth down to grin at them all. "Of course I come calling the second you do."

When Erza was laid up, before, the man had taken to carrying about a lacrima with him. Just for her. To get in contact with him.

"If," he'd insisted as she rolled her eyes, to weak to shove at him, "you need anything. At all. I will come running."

She'd never intended on using it. Even in her most dire times.

But this wasn't about her.

"Erza," Ravan started slowly then, frowning at the woman, but she only moved to cup both his cheeks in her hands that time as she stared down into his eyes.

"You do not have to go with him. I just wish for the two of you to speak."

"But-"

"I've come a long way," Jellal told Ravan as he passed them, instead going over to pat Kai on the head and give his condolences to Marin. "You can at least hear me out."

Still, Erza's gaze remained on Ravan as she said, "You can go and be whatever it is you like now. Do not worry about us, alright? At home? Your brother and I will be fine. I will soon be taking jobs once more and, well, without you around to feed, I suppose things will become a bit lighter. Not to mention your brother… About your bike-"

"Let Kai have it. Or...give it back to Master." Ravan shook his head, still in her hands. "I don't think I can… I'd just think about Haven, I think, if… And it costs so much to..."

"Alright." She nodded her own head that time before, blinking back the tears, she told him, "I do not care, you know, Ravan. What any of them say. Because they will say things about you, in your absence, but I… There is not a single thing I have done that I am more pleased to have done than take you and your brother in to my home."

"Erza-"

"I am so proud of you. And all that you've become. You still have much to learn and understand, but… You will grow even better from all of this. I promise. And I want you to visit. When you can. If you fear returning to Magnolia, then you need only to call for me and I will come. Wherever you are. I promise. Ravan."

Nodding as she dropped his cheeks, he told the woman, "Thank you. Erza. For everything."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

And when she did it that time, that last time, for a long time, slammed his head into her chest, Ravan couldn't help, but to wish it had been a bit harder, even. So it would have bruised. Concussed him. Given him something to remember her by.

As if he needed more mementos.

"How," she complained as, after one last look, she turned her back to him and faced the teens instead, "are you still crying, Kai?"

"I'm sorry." He kept wiping at them. "I'm trying to stop. I just can't."

She merely sighed. "What will I do with you?"

Ezra and Jellal shared a look then, as he walked passed her, but did not touch. Instead, the man only went over to Ravan and, patting him on the shoulder, grinned down at the younger man.

"Come," he insisted. "It's best to leave when they are distracted. You will learn."

But Marin wasn't distracted. As Erza rebuked Kai's tears and the boy tried to stop them, Marin only stared after Jellal and Ravan as they walked away. When he looked back, Ravan caught her stare and, when she raised her hand, as if in farewell, he raised his back.

Then they were gone, into the shadows, and Erza was insisting they had to hurry, if they were to catch their train.

The ride back felt just as heavy as the one out had and, as Marin tried to think of anything other than her sister, Ravan, or the fact her insides desperately wanted out, she found that her mind went a lot to her family. Her parents. Her aunts and uncles.

But none of her thoughts were particularly good.

When they arrived in Magnolia, Erza took them with her, first thing, to the guildhall. There was a sign on the door, announcing it's closure for the next few days, but Erza entered regardless. They could feel them. All of them. On the other side.

Laxus was seated at his usual table with his wife, friends, and in-laws around him. The only one missing from their family was Marin, who stood behind Erza, and Ajax, who'd been sent to the Dragneels.

He didn't need to be there while they worked on preparations.

Freed had returned, it seemed, and he the only one of the Thunder Legion that didn't glare at Erza, as both teens stood behind her, while the woman's eyes just found her master. Mirajane and her siblings though were far more concerned with something else.

"Marin." Mirajane rose from her spot beside Laxus and started forwards, towards her, but stopped without prompting. Just stood there, staring. "What are you doing? Where have you been? Come here. Please."

But her daughter only shook her head and Kai held her hand tighter.

"It," Erza told Laxus, "is done."

The Thunder Legion looked to the man then, Laxus, who only stared right back at Erza, heavily. They were waiting for it. For him to tell them to go. To do as he'd ask. Bring him Ravan. That whatever it was Erza had done hadn't been enough and now it was time to get true retribution from the man.

But Laxus only nodded, slightly, to her, saying nothing. He never would again. About it.

Turning, Erza started out of the hall, but noted it then. Marin coming with them.

"Stay, Marin." Moving to grab Kai, she separated them before nodding back to the girl's family. "It's time for you to be with your loved ones now."

"But-"

"No, Erza, she-"

"Enough," she ordered both teens and Marin teared up, at the thought, and it was her aunt then, Lisanna, who rushed forwards to grab her and hug her and she didn't want her to. For any of them to. No.

As Erza drug Kai away, she felt betrayed truly then, by the swordswoman. And maybe, she could admit, as she cried then, into her mother's chest, it had been less that she was angry with them, with all of them, though she definitely was, over their treatment of Ravan, but more than…

If she stayed away, if she didn't go back home, if she avoided her family and just stayed with Erza and Kai then maybe...maybe she could pretend like it wasn't true. Wasn't real. That yes, Haven was dead, but not really, maybe, kind of, because she didn't have to see her mother's sunken eyes or her father's blanket gaze. Didn't have to hear her aunts and uncles cry and she could just pretend like Haven was gone still, out on a job, and she wasn't going to have to go to her funeral and accept it, really accept it and…

"Let it all out, kid," Bickslow told her softly as Lisanna drug her over to the table and only her father couldn't look at her, didn't speak to her. "It's the only way. If ya let it all out."

"She'd hate you," Marin whispered, softly, and maybe there was some guilt in their eyes, all of them, even Ever's though she hid it so well, behind those big sunglasses she was sporting now. "For what you did to him. Ravan. He loves Fairy Tail. He didn't do anything wrong. It's not fair."

Maybe not.

But losing Haven hadn't been fair for them either.


	10. Chapter 10

Death, though a rather frightening concept, was like most sudden changes in one's life. The first day was the hardest. The next not nearly as bad. And, as the waves over Haven's death settled, the tears dried, and as the currents were drug back out to sea, most were left unharmed, but those who were touched felt an immense sense of violation and disorientation.

Her funeral was an awkward occasion for most involved as Laxus found himself having to not only be presentable given the circumstances, but also having to shake a lot of hands of people who hardly knew his daughter, but came, simply because of who he was. What his name meant. If anything, it was a bit depressing not in the fact that a death had occurred, but rather in the obviousness that it hadn't affected a significant amount of people.

Everyone from the guild came, but they hardly counted, and were they really there for Haven? Some, fine, but it was doubtful. No. Laxus could count among those there only Locke and Navi, truly, that he would consider his daughter's friend. He imagined she had some. He'd met three, anyways, for a brief moment over a year ago, in Crocus, but where were they? Who were they?

The funeral wasn't for Haven. It had no traces of her in it.

But then, were they ever for the deceased?

Still, his daughter spent the majority of her life in the city, knew nook and cranny of it, and yet, what ounce of it knew her? What potion of its people? He didn't even count himself nor his wife nor their extended family in that regards. No. Haven rejected Magnolia and it never rightly welcomed her anyways. The faces that stared back at him, when he stood up there, to say something about her had no recollection of his daughter, even the ones he knew she'd know, on sight, and Laxus wondered if they should have even had the service.

It only seemed to stress his wife out. He thought it would bring her closure, but given that Haven, well, wasn't even in attendance, technically, it only heightened the drama. Truly. Mira hissed at him, one night, about how dare he bury their daughter without her. How could he do that? So far away? What gave him the right? She demanded that they go and get her and he was so fed up, so drunk, that he agreed, that night, and why had he ever married her? Honestly? When he knew, he fucking knew, even back then, that eventually, it would end this way? Not in death, but in absolute hatred.

He hated his wife.

He hated everyone. Everything.

Or maybe he just hated himself and his narcissism wouldn't allow him to accept this. So he reflected it. Onto others.

Marin wouldn't come home. After Erza brought her to the guildhall that day, she stayed, as long as she had to, but then she fled back to the swordswoman's house and he knew he should be hurt by this. He knew the others were crushed about it.

But…

"You can't make her do something she doesn't want to do, Mira."

"She doesn't want to be here, Laxus, because you're a drunk and you let her sister die."

So yeah.

He could see why Marin didn't want to come home.

She stood with her mother though, like she was supposed to, like she should, at the funeral, and she didn't cry, not once, but he saw her stupid friend, Kai, in the back, with his head down the whole time, bawling as he clenched his fists and Erza stood beside him, looking sullen and out of place. Laxus didn't even think that the boy liked Haven much, really, or she him, but he cried about fucking everything.

Everything.

Locke and Navi were there, of course, with both of their families. He looked so grown with his hair tied back and in a suit. Like his father. A man. And Navi was just now becoming one, an adult, a woman, and didn't quite look the part yet, but it really bothered Laxus that he would spend the rest of his life seeing them continue to do it. Grow up. Age. Leave, maybe, even. Permanently. Have lives, actual lives, and he was jealous of them, almost, for it. Their parents at least.

Haven would never have that.

All she was in that moment, as she laid in the ground, rotting away, so far away from him, from them, was all she ever would be. A scrawny, underfed street kid with no home and no guild, even, to her name. Not really. She wasn't a Fairy. She wasn't anything.

She left so that her name wouldn't be stained, recalled only in conjunction with the enigma of his guildhall, but now it didn't matter; because her name wouldn't be remembered. At all. He didn't doubt that she touched some lives, outside of her immediate family and friends, that there weren't people out there, in Fiore, who would wonder where she went. How she was. But for how long? How long would they worry? Or wonder? She didn't even make it to twenty. Twenty. He was still busy fucking his life up at that age. Dicking around with the Thunder Legion and women and he was drunk, through most of it, either on alcohol or power, and Haven wouldn't even touch it. Experience it. Twenties.

She hadn't found herself; she hadn't had the time. Not really.

His real life, adult life, didn't start until he was nearly thirty. And the entirety of hers was snuffed out before even two decades completed. It made him sick to his stomach, that day, as he thought of how many things he didn't even experience until his thirties. Forties. Haven would never have a kid or a spouse and, even if she wouldn't have had those things anyways, she wasn't even given the option to.

It was taken from her.

All of it.

Stripped away. Just like that.

And for what?

He didn't say much, that day, either, about his daughter. And neither did the priest of the cathedral who didn't know her at all and Mira only slightly, but it comforted Mirajane, for some reason, to think that Haven had some sort of religion in her life. He knew better though, Laxus did. Both about his daughter's feelings and the ultimate curse of life.

There was nothing after life. Good, bad, devout, otherwise; it didn't matter. There was just nothing there. Haven felt nothing anymore because Haven didn't exist anymore. Whatever life was, it was no longer with her and it was stupid, really, he felt, like to pretend otherwise.

But stupid things comforted his wife.

It all felt so hollow and fake. Haven would have hated it. Her funeral. Even with all the praises that were being sang about her, it would have still rung untrue. Fake. And wasn't it? Laxus shook so many hands of people who would have just as well spit on his daughter, were she alive, as they would pretend to mourn her for the sake of appearances with their master in her absence.

Mirajane hugged Locke, tightly, when it was his turn and he returned it as Laxus just looked voidly on. He felt like an asshole, now, with Haven being gone and it all being over. For giving her such a hard time, when she stated dating him. Locke. It wasn't like Laxus saw it going anywhere, really, even for that year that it happened under his roof, but if he'd known that she only had so few of those left…

There'd always been so many worse things. Than Locke.

The younger man just felt numb through it. All of it. There was no closure in this funeral than there had been the one on the cliff and he found he didn't quite like it either. Everyone being there. He knew it had to do with Haven's namesake, but fuck, she hated being a Dreyar more than she hated everyone named Dreyar.

"She'd probably have been mad at us for going."

That's what he said to Navi, following the funeral, as they ditched out on meeting up with anyone at the hall. Both said goodbye to their families and went back to her house to change out of their nice clothes before just walking around the city, together. They hadn't had a chance to speak, really, since Navi had gotten back in town. He didn't really want to see anyone, until the funeral, and, well, even if they weren't as close as they once were, they were still connected, no matter how loosely now, through their shared childhood.

Navi considered his words as they fell in step, easily, together, and took the path as if it were second nature, even though it had been years since he'd gone down there and nearly once for her. As they went through the woods, him kicking at a pebble and her thinking, Navi found herself laughing, but not inappropriately, at his statement.

"She'd have been just as mad," she whispered and it sounded so weird, using that tense, "if we didn't."

"You can't win with Haven," he said because he couldn't, yet, use it. That tense. Not without getting choked up. "She'll just changes the rules, anyways, if you do."

When they got to the clubhouse, it had clearly been overrun by their younger replacements. The twins had somehow left their bikes in front of it and there were action figures sitting, discarded, both inside and outside. Navi and Locke only went over to the fire pit though and, as she started it, he pulled a beer from the brown paper bag they'd stopped off to get.

Well, he got beers.

Navi didn't like it. Drinking. Unless it was fruity and she was with her friends doing something she shouldn't.

At the moment, she was with Locke and the fizz of the soda aided in the nostalgia the area held for them both.

"Can you tell me about it?" she asked eventually as the wind felt kind of icy and they sat side by side, like they were kids again, when Haven would flank her on one side and the guy on the other, before when she was just the odd person out in spirit, not openly spoken about relationships. When Locke looked down at her, Navi blushed with a shake of her head and said, "Not like… Gosh, you'd think I'd be better at it, huh? Asking people questions? But I just… These all the rumors right now and… Did Ravan kill Haven?"

He swore he saw his breath, in the air, as he let it out slowly before remarking, "Might as well have."

"Locke-"

"He dodged it. Or something. The shot that...that got her. His armor would have saved him, but he fucking let-"

"So he didn't."

"Shut up, Navi."

"I'm just-"

"He drug her out there. He told her to go. We were gonna be together. She said so. She was going to stay with me. I asked and she agreed and if I'd just fucking made her stay, if I'd gone after her, I… She left me a note, you know? And I went back and read it, now. She told me where she was going. With him. If I'd just seen it...but I was so angry because…he...Ravan… He made this happen. Him. No one else."

Navi was staring at him then, but he wouldn't look back at her and, slowly, she looked back at the fire. Softly then, she told him, "I think Haven was always afraid of it."

He was blinking then, down at his drink, but still managed to whisper, "Of what?"

"Flames. Fire. Did you ever watch her? Around it? I was always kind of afraid of her electricity. Or the Master's. It's different, I guess, for you, but when it's your own element… It's just funny because I don't think that I ever really thought she was afraid of anything. At all. I like...built it all up, you know? In my head? But she wasn't special; she didn't even hide it that well. She just beat you up if you mentioned it."

He sneered then, rather than laughed, and said, "You wanna know what she was really afraid of?"

"What?"

Again, he gave something of a choking laugh before saying, "She always wanted a fucking dog, you know? When we were kids? But Master always said no, so once, when we were, I don't know, when we were first starting to make good, serious money on jobs, I was gonna take her to get one. Help her buy the shit for it and stuff and, you know, if it was already in the house, it wasn't like her dad or mom would make her get rid of it. So we went to the pet store and it was the friendliest fucking dog you ever met. Hands down. Still a puppy, really, but Haven freaked the fuck out."

"No way."

"Yeah. She did. She told me never to tell anyone about it, but, uh, I think it was, I don't know, the teeth? He kept trying to lick her, but she kept insisting that it was trying to bite her and it just… I don't know." He deflated some, shoulder sinking. "I was just saying, is all."

Swallowing, Navi glanced over at him again before saying, "I don't think she ever thought that I got over all that stuff, you know? In Incidio?"

"What? No. She didn't-"

"We never talked about it. Again." Then she frowned. "We never really talked again, actually. I tried to talk to her, when we were all in the capital, but it just never… I was such a bitch to her. About it. Incidio."

"You were not. Don't say that."

"She came and saw me," Navi told him and that was news to Locke. As he frowned over at her, she added, "After she got kicked out of the guild. Before she went and did anything else, she came and saw me and I always kind of hated it, how rude I was to her. You said she drug me around, you know? In those caves? I was mad then, because I felt like it was all her fault, but… I went there. On that trip. Haven didn't make me go. What happened to me...it was my fault. It-"

"Shut up."

"Locke-"

"Ravan killed her, Navi."

Shaking her head some, she told him, "I'm just saying that I… I wish I'd told her that I was sorry. For cutting her off. Even if she was just going to cut the rest of us off anyways, I… Haven wasn't a great friend or anything. She was mean and hateful and really bossy and… But she wasn't evil. You know? Like people think? She'd look out for you. She might hurt you in the process, but she wouldn't let someone else do it too. And we ended things on good terms, I guess, the last time we spoke, but…"

She felt them then, as she turned to rest her head against his arm. The tears. As Locke let her cry it out into his sleeve, he only lifted his head with a few nods.

"Haven was a lot of things," he agreed softly. "But she was our friend. The whole way. She never...never...stabbed us in the back. Never. She mightta left us, you know, back here, in Fairy Tail, but she had her reasons. And she'dda come back. I'm telling you, Navi, she would have. And..and… Fuck."

Jumping up then, she stared in shock at him for a moment before, watching as he emptied it, the whole beer can, into the fire, Navi jumped up to the do the same with her soda. Every last drop. And then, tossing the cans to the ground, they both thought really hard, together, but silently, about how stupid she'd think they were for doing that.

"It's just us now," Locke whispered as she hugged him. "Navi."

And when they fell back once more, onto their butts, in the cold dirt, they somehow felt even worse.

"What do you think happens?" she asked him, softly, and there was a hint of it. Snow. In the air. Maybe. If the degrees dropped just a few more. It wouldn't stick, probably not that day, but soon. "When someone dies?"

But Locke just shrugged as he pulled his other beer out and Navi sniffled some, drying her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket.

"My mother told me, once, when I was young that...that when you die, maybe, you get to go wherever you want, you know? Not like a ghost or whatever, but like, your mind, I guess, will create a world of it's own, you know? When you die? And you get to go to it. Or maybe it's a collective thing? I can't remember. But like, she said that her parents were just waiting for her. To join them. And I could be there too and my brothers and… I mean, I don't know. It's stupid, but-"

"It's not stupid. Not if you believe."

"I don't even know if I do. I just thought that, you know, if Haven could have anything in the world, make any world she wanted… Do you think we'd be in it? 'cause I think you can, you know, probably do whatever time period you want. And...I wouldn't go back. I like my life. Now. But… For us all to be together again, how it was..."

"Haven would just make a world where she was the most powerful person in it. Fuck the rest of us." That time, he drank it all, the beer, only finishing it thought after it flowed warmly down to his belly. "She'd invite us all. Just to praise her power."

Navi had some concern in her gaze until, when his eyes fell on her, Locke's did look so dark and he didn't laugh, he couldn't laugh, but her head fell to his shoulder again and they sat by the dwindling fire together, silently then as there wasn't much else to be said.

When he went home that night, Locke really did it. Went home. To his home. His apartment. He'd been staying with his parents the past few nights but now, at what felt like the natural conclusion for most people, he felt like it was time. To return. Get back there. He'd gone a few times, to get his nice suit and once, just to get out of the house, but now, home, really home, he planned to stay for awhile. Hole up again.

Be alone.

But he wasn't that for long.

As he was sitting around, on his couch, moping and listening to music, there was a knock at the door. He'd worried about this. His father or Lily trying to come over. Or take him back. He didn't want either of those.

Not that night. Not then. No. The immediate reactionary period was over and he was just numb now. He needed to lick his wounds alone.

Still, the knock sounded different and, fearing it was one of his friends or something, he rushed to open it. No though. It wasn't. On the other side stood Freed, still in his funeral attire, with his hands clutched behind his back.

"You were not," he told the younger man simply, "at the reception."

He had no rebuttal or reply to that, given it was just a fact, but it was no matter was Freed didn't seem to interested, anyways. Giving him hardly any time to say anything had he'd had something, the man was continuing right along as, from behind his back, he produced an envelope.

"If you will recall, I went on, alone, to where she… The place they originally inquired about how to begin the..." Freed, for once, seemed unable to find elloquent enough words to stumble through his thoughts. "Yes, well, anyways, while I was there, the man gave me this. He would have mailed it out, he said, but if I swore not to open it… He sent his condolences, all the same, to the family. I wish for you to do the same. Do you understand? Laxus and Mirajane would be quite hurt, I believe, and perhaps the others as well, to hear that in her final words, she chose for them to be to someone...else. I mean no offense, as I am sure the tow of you-"

"She wrote me a letter?"

"I do not know." Handing it over then, Freed didn't make a motion to come into the apartment nor did Locke seem ready to offer. "I was merely told it is precautionary. They have participants write a final...goodbye, of sorts. Haven seems to have chosen you for hers. I wished to give it to you sooner, but I have no seen you. And today, I felt as if… Everything relating to this should get out. Today. You can deal with it in your own time, of course, but I would feel awkward, handing it to you in the coming days. Today felt much more adequate."

He got that souring feeling in his stomach again, Locke did, and after thanking the man, he only closed and locked the door before rushing to his bedroom though, once there, he felt conflicted. Part of him wanted to rip into it, right then and there. Get it over with. But another part of himself knew that it would be the last thing Haven said to him. Literally. He'd never get that back. Once he opened it, everything was out there and, even just in his head, nothing she said would ever be a surprise again. Just a memory. No.

No.

He couldn't do it. A lot of willpower went into it, but slowly, Locke went to drop the letter with the others. The ones she sent him. And in the coming days, after he sorted through them, he'd take all the ones he'd sent to her, that he found in her pack, and add them to the pile. One day...one day he'd have to open it. To see.

One day.

But not that day.

Navi went back to the guildhall, following her time with Locke at the clubhouse, and wasn't shocked to see the tense air had died down some as people drank and kind of forgot why they were so sad in the first place. It helped that most of them hadn't been all along.

She saw Mirajane though, sitting with her sister, at a table where people would randomly come by and say something sweet or encouraging to her, maybe, and Navi spotted her mother nearby, frequently with something to say herself.

"Here you are."

She grimaced somewhat when her father tossed an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, Dad. Have you been here the whole time?"

"Your mom says we can't leave till… When can we leave, Hap?"

"When Mirajane does," the cat sighed as he came to fall into Navi's arms. "Lucy wants to stay after and clean up around the place. Her and some of the others. To do something nice."

"Where have you been, anyways?" Natsu dropped his arm from around his daughter then as he said, "Not trying to cut and run on us already, are you, Navi?"

Happy, just from the thought, made a noise in the back of his throat as he tilted it back, to stare up at her with sad eyes.

"Please don't," he insisted. "You should stay for awhile. After everything… We should all be together."

She doubted Haven's death meant much to either of them. Natsu liked Haven just about as much as he liked anyone else who he either didn't hate or didn't adore and Happy wasn't too fond of her. To say the least. Or hadn't been.

Hadn't.

Hadn't.

Navi didn't answer them though, because she didn't want to lie to her father, she never liked doing that, and it wasn't the place for it. The conversation. It'd hung heavily over her for far longer than Haven had been dead, but only following learning of her death had something really changed. In Navi.

It wasn't just the two of them. Her and Locke. No. At least she didn't want it to be. If she wasn't careful, her family, whether intentionally or not, would try and bring her back into the fold. Haven's death was less traumatic for those outside of the woman's family and more a good reminder of what their lives styles all meant. Death wasn't an inevitable side of being a mage, but it was certainly a heightened reality. Sometimes this could feel false, in their guild, but it was very true.

Still, she knew her father would probably rather it. Her be home. Going on jobs. With him or with Locke, but home, really, was the point. Her mother now as well. Haven left; now Haven died. Maybe if they all bundled up in Magnolia, she would be the only one.

"Man," Bickslow cursed into the coming evening as he stood out there, on the balcony, having a smoke while Freed stood by and Evergreen sipped at a glass of wine. "I'm gonna miss that fucking kid."

"Laxus should have let us go," his female teammate remarked as she paced around the deck that hung above the guildhall, rather than just hang off the railing like the men. "After that boy."

"He's just that, Ever." Freed sighed, viewing the city from above. It was getting cold. "A boy. A kid. I'm not going to hunt down a sniveling child because...why? Haven is gone. Ravan is now essentially gone as well. It's over. It's done."

"Nah, I ain't mad at the kid. The boy. Whatever." Bickslow took in a deep drag. "Worried about my own though. He ain't handling this too well."

And he wasn't. Ajax. His mother and father kept talking to him about it, and going on and on about how these things happen and no one can plan for them, but Ajax didn't hear a single thing they said. No. The only thing he heard, the only thing he thought about, was how Haven told him to get stronger. That she wanted him to get stronger. Than her. Better. Than her. He had to be. She'd trained him and she was the best ever and that hadn't been enough, to beat it, but that just meant that, eventually he'd be. Strong enough.

And he'd do it.

He'd destroy that monster. That final one. The one that took his hero away from him. It's all he could think about, the days leading up to the funeral, and as he kept getting stuck over with the Dragneels, it completely ate at him. They'd been told to be extra kind to him, Lucky and Iggy had, and one day Lucy took them to the park, just to get them out of the house, so they could do something that didn't leave them bouncing off the walls.

Iggy immediately summoned Hak and thought it would be pretty fun, if they played tag. Lucky smiled at the suggestion and told Ajax that they wouldn't even make him be it, if he didn't wanna. Since his cousin had just died and all.

But Ajax just glared at their suggestion, like he had every time they tried to do anything fun. At first, they just thought he was sad and kind of played with their toys around him, but now his expression didn't look weepy or upset; it just looked angry. At their very suggestion.

"I don't want to play your stupid baby game."

He even shoved at Lucky, since he was closest to him. Iggy was quick to snatch up Hak, fearful that she would be attacked too. And Lucky bucked up, for a moment, but then he glanced over at where his mom was a bit distracted, speaking to someone from the guild she'd run into, and knew that if he hit the older boy, he'd get in trouble; since Ajax was grieving and all.

Still, he sneered at them then, right in their faces, as he said, "I'm not your friend anymore. You're a bunch of stupid little babies. I'm going to be the best wizard in all of Fiore; I don't have time for you. You stupid little kids."

Iggy still felt pretty bad for him, but Lucky only stuck his tongue out at him and, well, Ajax knew that you had to be alone. To get strong. Haven always was. Alone. She told him that, once. When she got home from a job and was drinking with Locke, up at the hall, but then Locke had to go and Haven and him were fighting, like normal, and she was hiccuping some as she said it didn't matter if he was there or not. None of it mattered. Deep down, no matter how many people were there, she always felt alone. Always.

And he didn't understand it, at first. What it meant. His dad said some weird shit too, when he was drunk, but he thought about it a lot. Randomly. When he thought of her out there, in those days, all alone. Exploring and being a treasure hunter and making a name for herself.

Now though, all he could think about was her there, in the ground, that's what his father said. She was buried in the ground somewhere that he didn't even know, all alone. There. Next to the summoning circle of the monster that killed her.

He'd go alone, one day, he just knew he would, and he'd destroy that monster. All by himself. And then he'd go see her and tell her all about it. He'd find that he'd dream about it a lot, in the coming weeks.

Ajax hoped he got strong soon.

So Haven wouldn't be alone long.

His newfound attitude might have worried his parents, but Evergreen only snorted at the idea.

"He's young. Resilient. One day, she'll just be a memory to him. Think of everyone you lost, when you were his age. Before we got to Fairy Tail. How often do they cross your mind?" Evergreen gulped it down that time. The wine. It made it easier to be so cut and dry. "Worry about Laxus. And Mirajane. This isn't going to just go away for them. And they're both already so… They won't get over this."

"Do not lose faith, Evergreen." He thought he saw it, Freed did. Maybe it was a twinkling of the oncoming night, but he could have sworn it was the tiniest first flake of winter. "Mirajane and Laxus have overcome much to get to this moment. It will take time, but this too, eventually, will pass us all by. He is a Dreyar. And Mirajane now, too, for many years. Nearly as many as she was a Strauss. Endurance and perseverance are terms the Dreyars invented. Nothing keeps them from their goals."

But what did it mean then? When neither had a goal anymore? There was a time when Laxus was drive for his guild, for his family, but now his dreams of being a master felt like some sort of cruel joke and his family hadn't been one of those in a long time. He didn't stick around the hall long. Did his duty and went on home, where he could drink alone and fall asleep alone and just be alone.

That's all Laxus wanted to be anymore.

Alone.

It's all he was.

All he'd had been.

His whole life.

How stupid was he? To plan otherwise?

And Mirajane didn't feel much better. She spent the majority of the night agreeing that yes, her daughter was in a better place and thanking people she hardly knew for feeling sorry about a nineteen year old they wouldn't recognize on the street. It made her feel better, at first, but as it worse on…

"You should go home," Lucy suggested with a slight smile and Lisanna was quick to nod, offering to walk her there.

"I have to find Marin. First," the girl's mother said, but they both gave her something of sympathy then, and she knew. She'd known.

"It's just that Kai is there. At Erza's," Lisanna offered.

"He's her only friend," Lucy agreed softly. "Of course they'd want to be together."

Of course.

But they were hardly together, there, at the swordswoman's house. Erza retired to her room not soon after making her appearances at the guildhall. Offering her condolences. Mirajane hugged her, at the funeral and the hall, but Laxus just gave her this stare and it was hard not to understand.

Ravan lived.

Whether or not he was to blame didn't matter. A silly game that most everyone played to save Locke's feelings in the matter. No. It wasn't about which one had egged the other on out of Haven and Ravan. Rather, it was about who'd come home.

Erza's child had.

Laxus hadn't.

It made sense that he felt cheated. She would as well, were the roles reversed. But they weren't. And she wasn't going to feel sorry about that. If anything, it felt like a hollow victory as Haven's absence was now punctuated, yes, but Ravan's was in other ways.

He'd never be a part of her guild again. Maybe, one day, he could come home, at least, but not to Fairy Tail. Who would want to? Even if one day he was accepted once more? Ravan survived, but at the cost of having his home taken from him. Something she carried in her own past and, honestly, Ravan as well. Now it was being replayed in just as traumatic fashion, but this time, she couldn't slay the monster for him. She couldn't save him.

She was the one hurting him.

When Marin showed back up, just one day after being left with her family, Erza knew she should send her back. Not just for her mother's sake, but her own. Marin couldn't hide out from her pain. And she didn't imagine there were really any sides to be had, in this war, as Erza and Kai had already lost, but for Marin to try and plant herself on their team anyways didn't bode well.

For anyone.

Still, she was...hurting. Erza was. Over her own loss. Not to mention, she had to consider her financial status. Soon enough, she would be out on jobs again, well or not, and that was just how it had to be. She needed to take her training seriously, not be waylaid by needless drama.

And so what? If Marin wanted to be there? Wtih her only friend? With the only adult in her life that actually seemed interested in her? Not just because they were blood, as they weren't at all, but rather because Erza actually seemed to care about her. More than Haven.

Marin was hurt by her sister's death, deeply, but she knew...she knew that if...if it had been her…

Haven was annoying and a brat and thought everyone hated her.

All things that were probably true.

But she was still their family's favorite.

They liked Marin. They loved Marin. But Marin made little noise or complaints as she grew and their entirety had been thrown into Haven for so long, reigning her in, sending her off, worrying about her well-being. That was all swept away from them now, but Marin would always be there. Behind the bar. Sweeping up around the hall. Seen, maybe, but not heard.

She never knew how much she actually resented Haven until she died. Not just for the way her sister treated her all those years. No. Marin was over all that. Honest. But the shadow that Haven left, even incomplete and filled with holes, always felt impossible to find her way out of.

People kept talking as if Mirajane and Laxus had lost their only child.

Maybe they had.

The only one that mattered.

Marin went to bed that night, early and alone, as she only fell into Kai's bottom bunk and told him not to worry about her, she'd be fine. He was concerned and sat there, on the edge of the bed, for a long time, just quietly for once, but eventually there was a soft knocking on the front door and he seemed to know who it was.

"I told him not to come. To the funeral. I didn't think you'd want him there."

"I wouldn't have cared."

But he only shrugged and she told him to go, like she had before, and she could hear them there, through the bedroom window, as they talked out on the front porch. He must have stayed out there forever, Kai did, but Marin drifted off eventually, to the sound of his grumbles changing to something of snickers and then maybe something more and, eventually, it was morning.

Erza was gone when she got up, off training no doubt, but Kai was snoozing, in his brother's bunk, and Marin shut off the alarm quickly, as to not arouse the other teen. She stumbled through it some and felt weird, in the cool morning air, as she made her way to the guildhall.

It was actually in pretty good shape, considering all that had gone on there the night before. As she flicked on all the lights, Marin spent some times, taking a quick stock, even up in the infirmary. She just wanted to feel it like that. Empty. Hers. The guild. Just like every other morning before, a week ago, when her father had returned back home without her sister.

She was tacking up jobs when the first person poked their head cautiously through the guildhall doors, glancing about.

"Still closed?" called out one of the frequently gone guys. Always gone. Gunning for that S-Class. "The signs gone, but I… I can come back later, if you-"

"We're not closed." She smiled, Marin did, and didn't stumble over her words in the slightest. "Normal operations today."

"Really?" He was slowly coming in then, the man was. "The Master said?"

Taking in a deep breath, this is where the stumbling would really come. The trembling. The uncertainty. But Marin only kept it up, her grin, the way her mother had, all those years before, when she lost her own sister and found the same solace in the magical halls.

"We're," she said instead of answering, "open."

You didn't have to tell him twice.

Or any of the others that asked.

The place was in full swing by the time Erza and Kai came around, looking for her, and as Kinana hadn't gotten the heads up about the place being open, it was just Marin, working hard all on her own. Somehow though, she found she liked it better that way.

"I can't have breakfast with you," she told the pair as Erza studied her curiously and Kai only eyed the tray in her hands, filled with plates of food for the next table over. "I'm working all the stations today."

"That you are," Erza observed with a nod and Kai with a bit of a frown when she got back to that. Still, the swordswoman gave a rare smile of approval. "As you should be."

It felt empowering, if not exhausting, that day. Lisanna showed up eventually after hearing about the hall being opened and rushed to help her niece out, as well as scolding her a bit, for going through all of this.

"Only your father can open the guild, Marin, back up. After it's closed."

"W-Well," she stuttered some because this was different, addressing her aunt, "he's not here. How can we know what he wants? When he's not here?"

Lisanna had no answer for her and, in the coming weeks and months, Marin would find it much easier. To assume that role. As the man was around less and less frequently and her mother, who should have been next in line, as the head of the bar staff, felt much the same.

But Marin didn't mind.

She preferred it that way.

The guild had become a safe place, for Marin. One to avoid all her insecurities and doubts. Now it was becoming a powerful place for her. Because Marin was powerful now. She had to be.

For herself.

For Haven.

But not for Kai. He decided that a few days later as he prepped for an upcoming snowfall, out in the flowerbeds, and it was really shitty of him. Locke. To come fuck with him, while he was trying to work.

No one had seem the older guy since the funeral, but there he was, that day. He'd come in to just look around, really. Not go on a job, really, he didn't think, but maybe get something to eat and just…

But he saw Kai there and, sighing some, he knew he had to go make it right. As stood over the younger guy though, Kai didn't move to acknowledge him though so, with a bigger sigh, he started.

"I'm sorry, Kai. About that day. I-"

"Fuck you."

Locke blinked. "What?"

"Fuck," he repeated as, slowly, he rose from the dirt and turned, just to glare up at the older guy. Locke was big and strong and tall and Kai wished he could hit him, right in the nose. Break it. Bloody him up. Real bad. "You. Locke."

"I'm trying to apologize, okay? I shouldn't have...pushed you. Threw you. Whatever. That was wrong of me and-"

"I don't want your stupid apology." As he clinched his fists, Kai could almost see it. Hitting the other guy. In the face. He wasn't so much of a pacifist, as much as a wimp though and, well, he just took to shaking with rage instead. "You made everyone think that my brother's some kind of killer. Are you gonna apologize to him? Huh?"

"No." Locke could tell he'd made a mistake then, even speaking to Kai, and took a step back. "I'm not. I'm not sorry about that. Ravan got what he deserved. He is a killer. He-"

"You think you're some kind of nice guy, Locke, but you're not. You're fucking not. You're just mad because Haven didn't love you as much as you thought she did."

"Watch your mouth."

"What are you gonna do? Huh? Attack me again? I'm not afraid of you." And he wasn't. He knew he should be, because he'd only get his ass kicked if he went toe to toe with the older guy, but still. This was about something deeper. He'd taste blood for his brother's honor. Ravan would have done the same for him. "You'dda gone too. If she asked you. But she didn't. She went with Ravan and not you and- You can't just walk away from me! Locke!"

But he could.

He didn't think he could, at first, as he too clenched his fists, but… It was an overwhelming type of anger he'd had before, when he first got to the hall that day. Kai was so happy and right there and he just… He'd expected Ravan to be around and to unleash on him. It was wrong. To pick on Kai. That's what it was. Picking on him. And Locke was gritting his teeth as he turned, but he still turned because fuck Kai; he didn't think he was a nice guy. A good person. Not the way the other guy said it, at least. Locke never went around picking on those beneath him and gosh, Kai was so fucking far beneath him.

Kai knew it too and it was so aggravating, the whole thing, because he'd never wanted it before. Power. Strength. He was fine with just skating by, but he'd skated right into being unable to even protect Ravan's name and fuck Locke. Fuck them all. For what they were doing. What they did. To his brother.

They were all hurting, over Haven, but Kai wanted Locke to hurt more. By his own hand.

"They slept together."

He didn't yell it. Just said it. Flat. Right like that. And when Locke stopped walking, Kai felt it. His grin. Not a toothy one or even boyish one.

No.

This was something he'd never tasted before.

Not blood. He knew what that tasted like.

Not defeat. He was fed that constantly.

No.

This was victory.

"Ravan told me. You know it's true. Is it gonna bother you? The last person to sleep with Haven before she died was...not you. Wow. It was Ravan. And it will always be that way. Locke."

He was walking again, faster now, Locke was, and Kai laughed some, to himself. It felt nice. Victory. Warm. On his belly.

But not for long.

As he got back to work, the warmth felt much more like guilt and was this what it meant? To best someone else? Why did the older kids always like this? It was gross.

Locke felt gross too and sick and it wasn't true and he didn't care and he'd thought that he'd save it. For a long time. To listen to when he needed to hear it. But fuck, he didn't care anymore. As he made it home, he was seething and couldn't breath and as he ripped into the letter, it probably wouldn't matter, he figured, what it said.

It never would again.

Still, he found himself falling down, to his floor, and with his back pressed against his bed, he read it and read it and couldn't stop as his eyes traced each word multiple times over.

_So I guess I'm dead._

_But probably not, so don't worry. This gauntlet thing sounds super lame and impossible and probably fake anyways. They want us to fill these out, to send to someone, and it would fuck Laxus and Mom up, if a letter came back, instead of me. And honestly? I dunno if I'll come back, after I finish with this. Ravan's being fucking weird, already, and I'll probably leave before it's over and not just say anything. Still, this dude here is like super serious about this and probably will send it out and, if I'm mad, I might forget to write or tell you guys I'm actually alive, and, well, I just thought I'd send it to you instead._

_I wanted to stay, Locke. But I'm not done yet. You said we can get stronger together and we still can, later, but I have other things that I'm still worried about. You told me that you didn't care, if it was selfish, to just keep our power to ourselves, but you haven't see it. What it's like. For people who really don't have any. At all._

_So I have to go get stronger, okay? I've probably run back off across Fiore, by the time you get this, so don't worry about looking for me. And Ravan's probably gonna be all pissy because he thinks we're gonna, like, rule the world or something together? He said we can ban together? What the fuck does that mean? I dunno, I told you he's been weird. Has he told you yet that he thinks he's stronger than the Salamander? Why did you and Navi let him get so fucking full of himself? Huh?_

_I'll be back though, Locke, so don't be too mad at me. I just need something else. Right now. But I meant it. I want to be with you. A lot. Just not more than I want to get stronger. You want me too, don't you? So just wait. Not like wait for me, but just wait for it to be right. The time,. You say everything always works out, so why are you trying to force this so much? I know you hate me again, now, and Ravan's being an ass to the dude running this thing so I have to end it here, but I'm sorry, Locke. Really, I am. I'm so sorry._

_Forgive me?_

He fucking hated her. So much. So fucking much. Why did Haven have to always do this? Why did she live just to do this? To ruin it for him? To ruin everything for him? Why couldn't she just be happy with it? Fairy Tail? What it had to offer her. There was so much in Magnolia, in their guild. Why did she have to be so ungrateful? So petulant?

Why didn't she want him?

His father made him go out on a job a few days later. He needed the jewels, anyways, and neither of them said much, on it. Lily either. Gajeel just wanted to keep his son from falling too deeply into himself.

That's what he told his wife, that first night they'd come home, as Locke passed out in his old bedroom and Pantherlily moped about the house.

Gajeel sat out on the back porch, glaring and annoyed with the whole situation while his wife fretted over Locke inside. But she joined him, eventually, out there. When she sat down, she was all weepy over the whole thing and Gajeel didn't mind it any, when she rested her head against his shoulder.

Just patted her on his and offered grimly, "At least Locke can actually move on. There's no going back now. Finally."

She lifted her head, to reproach his words, he knew, but when she caught it, the glassiness in his eyes, she only lowered her head once more.

Softly, she admitted, "I loved her too."

"Yeah." He shrugged and, when he blinked, the glassiness was gone. "Well."

As they fought together, side-by-side, on that job together, Gajeel could admit the merit in both.

When he got back to town, Locke found out how lucky this was as it happened to be the very day he found out that, no. It wasn't just Locke and Navi now.

"I'm actually gonna start looking for an apartment."

It was just Locke.

They ran into one another, out in the city, and Locke wanted to walk around for a bit. To talk about it. But not talk her out of it.

Navi was glad for that.

She'd already had enough of it from her family.

It wasn't so much, even, that they seemed to think she shouldn't, but as much that she was making the decision more out of distress. Or duress. She wasn't sure which. That Haven's death had affected her so deeply that she was trying to run away from it, instead of face it, and Navi felt kind of like a bitch as she told her mother and father that, no; Haven really hadn't meant much to her in a very long time.

"Don't say something like that," Lucy sighed, shaking her head at it. But Happy was nodding his.

"Yeah," he agreed. "The last thing I want is Haven's ghost hanging around here. Haunting us."

"I don't know if that's the last thing," Natsu muttered and Lucy laid into them. Real good. For making light.

But Navi only sat there on the couch between the two of them as Happy sat in her lap, allowing this to go on. Even in death, Haven knew how to steal a moment from her.

"It's just time," Navi told them both, eventually, as Natsu sulked over the scolding on one side and Lucy still seemed rosy in the cheeks from having to give it. "You know? I...I'm never home. And I want to settle. Somewhere. Not here. You both lived on your own. When you were my age. Why can't I?"

"I mean, you can," Lucy said slowly as they remembered why they were really there, in that moment. "I just… What's wrong with what you're doing now? Navi?"

"Yeah, we like when you come back home," Happy insisted, tilting his head back, to stare up at her. "You always bring us gifts."

"I'd still come home, silly," she giggled as her mother made a face at the Exceed.

Natsu just sunk lower though, grumbling softly to himself, "Can't you just pretend to move out? And not take any of your stuff? At all? And then, when you visit, it'll be like how it is now? Without you calling it that?"

"What good would that do?" his wife asked and he shrugged because she was right, of course, he'd still know, they'd all still know, but man, it sounded like it would feel a lot better.

"I just want to be on my own," she insisted to both her parents, at the Exceed, looking down at Happy after to each of her sides. "Really. I don't want to come to you for money or just blow mine, on dumb things. I want to be an adult. I am an adult. So it's time that I act like one."

She wasn't asking their permission.

No.

She had, before, when she first started staying by herself, for extended periods. Off writing, she said, but partying felt much more likely and, well, the gap year was dead.

It was time to recommit.

"So you're still doing," Locke said slowly, as Navi explained all of this to him as they stood over one of the bridges that connected both sides of the canal, "what you were doing before. Right? You said you're going to go around, looking for an apartment to stay in. For a few weeks. On what money?"

"Shut up, Locke." But she was grinning as she said it. "And my book money is coming in. You know."

He felt his own grin, just a bit, as they stared down into their reflections in the water. It would be frozen soon enough. Looking more at hers than his, he asked, "You gonna have time for us? When you're a household name?"

"It's why I'm moving away."

"Of course."

"I won't answer your letters or requests for appearances."

"You'll be in high demand."

"First week best seller."

"Navi."

"What?"

"Just..." This time, he did see his breath, and Locke watched it drift away from him before he turned to look at her. Not her reflection, but actually her, standing there, beside him. "I know we don't talk a lot anymore and… I want to. Talk. To you. I'm sorry if that's weird. I feel pretty weird now. But I just don't wanna..."

"You'll never be too lonely, Locke. In Fairy Tail." Her eyes were bright too as she insisted, "And you know, it's like they say, right? Haven will always be there right with you. In your heart or whatever. Right?"

He went back to to their reflections. "You taking her place now? Leaving? Without saying goodbye?"

"Don't look so down. You're the king now, right? You outlasted us all. Me, Ravan, Haven. You'll be the first S-Class. The only one. If you keep at it."

"Kai called me an asshole. The other day."

Navi really didn't want to get that heavy, but still found it hard to sympathize as she said, "I mean...you've declared war on his brother, Locke. You don't get your cake and eat it too."

"You're no his side now?"

"There's no sides," she told him. "And if there were, you won. He's gone. It's over. It's all over. So just let it go, okay? Don't get all caught up in something stupid like hating some guy who...what? Went out on a job with your girlfriend? Locke, I know you're hurting, but… Hating Ravan won't bring Haven back. Hunting him down won't bring her back. So don't do something dumb like that, alright? Haven wouldn't want it and I don't want it and… You're not even listening to me, are you?"

"Haven would avenge me."

"There's nothing to avenge. Ravan didn't kill Haven. And you know that. So please, just stop talking about it." She bore holes into his reflection, almost willing him to look back to her once more. "Haven didn't think that she could be killed. She could. She was. Haven killed Haven. That monster killed Haven. Not you, for not being able to save her. Not Ravan, for getting out of the way. He was an asshole, fine, for leaving her, but Ravan is an asshole. They both were. They… Do you remember how much they hated one another? When we were kids?"

"Don't, Navi," he warned like he had, that day at the clubhouse, but she didn't feel as bad for him now, days removed. Or maybe she felt so bad she knew she had to at least try.

"They did. They hated one another so much. I always thought he was kind of weird. And creepy. When he first started wearing that stupid cloth over his mouth, he looked like some sort of mugger or something. And do you remember his first set of armor? I used to be freaked out by him, but I think he's mostly just a huge dork." When Locke refused to speak, she only went on. "And Haven was so mean. Just mean sometimes. And they used to try and kill one another, I think. But then something happened and… I think it was nice. That they could be friends. With one another. They both sucked so hard at it, do you remember? So… He's hurting too, Locke. Wherever he is. I can't tell you why he ran off, but I know why they did it. Went out there. On that stupid, dumb mission. Because they're friends who both loved beating shit up. How would you have felt? If I died in Incidio? And my whole family blamed you? I never liked Ravan, I still don't, but don't pretend like you were the only person that cared about Haven. You're not."

Navi felt a bit like her mother, what with the dressing down she'd given her father the other day (or all days) and made a face at her own reflection before smiling brightly at the dim one he had.

"Could you imagine," she whispered softly and he could tell the tone and the look in her eyes because she got it all the time the past few years, whenever she thought about guys and relationships, "if we got together? Instead of Haven and you? Wouldn't that be weird? Haven might have beaten me up… Actually, no, because then she and Ravan could have gotten- I'm just kidding. Locke, don't look so mad."

"It's not that." Still, he brought his fist up to his mouth then, picking at a fingernail with his sharpest tooth. It sat on his chest, as it had since Kai lorded it over him, but Locke would rather choke than admit where his mind really went. "It's just… I don't want to think about it anymore. Navi. Ever again. When we were kids and all that. Because we weren't kids. He left her there to die. And nothing you or anyone else says about that will ever change it. I never trusted him. Never. He was always out for himself."

She almost bit her tongue. Really. She did. But still, she looked right at him as he he glared down, at their reflections, when she said, "So was Haven."

He knew.

He'd always fucking known.

Navi left Magnolia with her emblem still on her arm, but serious doubts about ever using it for anything ever again while Locke only found his to be the only thing he wanted adorning his body for awhile.

Marin was behind the counter that day, as she had been most days, in the fallout of the whole thing. Still, Locke had avoided her a bit, or maybe she had him, and after apologizing to Kai went so sour, he made sure the younger guy wasn't around before he approached the youngest Dreyar girl.

The only Dreyar girl?

It didn't matter.

Marin just stared at him though, with wide eyes as he approached. They weren't for him though, her bright blues. No, they fell instead to what he held out, dangling it between his finger tips.

"What are you-"

"Haven would want you to have it."

"Locke-"

"I can't… I can't think, Marin, with it. Or here. Anywhere. All I see and hear and think about is your sister and… Take it." He forced her to, reaching across the bar then to grab one of her hands and lay the necklace in her flat palm. "I need time. Okay?"

"Okay," Marin whispered though, still, she thrust it back out to him. "But you should put it away. Somewhere. Maybe one day you'll-"

"I'm going to go away for awhile. Okay? On a long job. And maybe then some." When he reached out, it wasn't to reclaim the gem, but rather for her and it was kind of awkward, around the bar, but Marin hugged him back regardless. "I'll be back, but… You should go too. Marin. Eventually. Just away for awhile, you know? It'll make you feel better. And, uh, about Kai, I… I shouldn't have done that. And you mean a lot to me, so if I upset you then… If you ever need something, Marin...if you ever need me… I'm not saying it in that stupid way that everyone is saying it to you. And your family. Now. I mean it."

She nodded some, as he released her though, from his face, her gaze fell, down to the necklace she clutched in her palm. "I know, Locke."

He swallowed then, visibly, and seemed hesitant as his eyes fell to it too. But then he smiled at her, not a real one, but as someone who only lived in attempts in those days as well, Marin appreciated it. Returned it.

"Goodbye, Marin."

What more could she do than nod?

She wasn't sure what to do with the necklace though. Not for a few days. She just carried it around, in her pocket, feeling awkward even possessing it. Clearly, it'd meant something to her sister and Locke, but what significance did it have to Marin?

Maybe...maybe she'd go put it with Haven's things. At home. They sat in boxes, as they had since she'd left home, in their shared bedroom. Yes. She'd put it there, where it wouldn't just feel discarded, but rather waiting. She was certain Locke would want it back later, Marin was, and even if he didn't, at least it would be with all of Haven's other things.

But when she got there, to find her father snoozing on the couch and her mother nowhere around, Marin felt something else tug at her. She was just about to open her bedroom door, go put it away, when she thought that maybe…

"What are you doing?"

She felt caught, somewhat, Marin did, as her mother came out of the master bedroom to find Marin there, in sole bathroom of the tiny house, door open as she stood and gazed at herself in the mirror. The necklace hung from her neck and Marin could still remember how proud of it Haven was. When she first got it. The way she'd wear it everywhere.

"Nothing," Marin whispered as she turned to face her mother and, taking in the look in her eyes, she thought she was about to get told to take it off. Or something. Mira looked pained, almost, just to see her there. Had it really been that long since she'd been home?

No.

Marin had come a few days ago, to get some things, and Mirajane had been there then. And her mother had been down at the bar, just yesterday. They still saw one another. Honest. They did. It was just…

The woman been sleeping too, Mira had, and then she heard the front door open and, still half asleep, felt the power, the energy, that fell over the house and she just…

She'd thought it was her other daughter. For a moment. But no. Of course not.

"Well," Mira sighed slightly as Marin still seemed worried, "are you not on shift right now?"

"I asked for the afternoon and evening off."

"To be with Kai?" When Marin shook her head, Mirajane grinned, maybe just a bit, and asked, "Did you want to go out then? To lunch? It's a bit late for one, but an early dinner? Instead? Your father's...down for the night and-"

"I have plans." Marin seemed meek though, uncertain. But her voice didn't break. "Maybe another time, Mom."

It caught then in her throat, Mirajane's words did, and as Marin only hugged her goodbye, the woman could hardly stomach repeating the words back to her.

Kai came looking for Marin too, that afternoon. Kinana just smiled at him though and told him the girl had the rest of the day off, which was weird for Kai, because Marin usually told him that sorta stuff, but, well, it'd been a weird couple of weeks. He was probably gonna go home and get his fishing rods and go out and see if there was anything biting, even though it was freezing and gonna ice in the morning, he heard Erza mention earlier, but that wound up not mattering as, just when he was gonna head out, he was summoned over to by one of the other women in his life.

Err, well, her boyfriend anyways.

"Kai," Elfman called out to him as he passed. He froze, the teen did, but still, turned as the man insisted, "Come over here a sec, will ya?"

When he did, Elfman immediately launched into this whole spiel about how he knew the boy was avoiding them and he didn't understand why, well, he did understand why, actually, but they both just had to be bigger men then, you know? Weren't they that? Men? You could see passed differences, when you were a man.

But Kai didn't have any issue with Elfman. At all. And Evergreen, who sat beside her boyfriend knew this.

"Honestly, Kai," she said eventually as Elfman sniffled some and shook his hand with such force, the teen was nearly certain he broke a few bones. "Think of Marin. She just lost her sister. You want her to deal with all of us fighting over something so silly? Your brother did what he did. It's over. Let's be done with it already."

He glared at the woman and Elfman grinned sheepishly, because this was the closest the woman would get to an apology and that was fine. That was okay. About things that weren't so serious. About things that didn't involve his brother, his only flesh and blood, being sent away, cast aside, for no reason.

Kai hadn't run in a long, well, actually, no. He ran before. When he thought that something had gotten Erza. But that felt like a lifetime ago now and, when he left the hall, running along at full speed, his chest burned and his knees ached, but he couldn't stop. Through the streets he fled as his feet led him with little thought to a certain location. This probably had to do with the fact that he'd already been planning to go there, but it felt more like fate, honestly, as that's where he found Marin.

Floating face down in the mostly still, icy stream of his favorite fishing spot, her white hair floating all about.

Kai yelled, when he noticed her there, floating, and he jumped right in, to pull her out. This caused some panic in the girl, but he was more panicked and scared and...and...and…

"What were you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Marin complained back as they stared at one another, now both shivering in the cold winter's air as water dripped from every inch of them. "Kai?"

"I thought you were…. What were you doing?"

"I'm training. Becoming one with the water."

"By drowning yourself?"

"I'm a water mage, Kai. I can't drown."

Well that was news to him!

Maybe.

Honestly, his mind was so fried already and now he was pretty sure he was dying of hypothermia, so…

"You're going to freeze to death," she complained as, quickly, she rushed over to where her clothes laid, as well as a towel. Throwing the former to him, she yelled at him to turn around, while she changed.

"What are you even doing out here?" Marin asked as this was done and Kai only stood there, facing away from her, no warmer with the towel than he'd been without. "Is something wrong?"

Everything was wrong. Everything was fucking wrong.

His tears felt like they might freeze to his face, but Kai couldn't help it. He was a crybaby. He'd always been. And, as Marin only rushed to his side, he wiped at his face with the towel while he choked out a rambled version of his thoughts.

"I went to find you, at the bar, and you weren't there, but your aunt was and she told me that I should just...that I should just… Ever says that I should just get over it. That I should just fucking get over it because you're hurting and that's all that matters, but that's not fair! Marin! It's not! I'm so tired of hearing it. I'm sorry your sister died, but Ravan had nothing to do with that! At all! She chose to go with him, she chose to go to the final monster even though they were all beaten up. Her. Not him. Haven's dead because of her own stupid mistakes and I hate that too, but…

"If Ravan had died and Haven had lived, no one would have sent her away. No one would have shunned her. You'd all have held her and cried with her and told her about how it wasn't her fault, but with Ravan, you just threw him out. Your father and your mother and your aunts and uncles and the whole guild and I thought that we were family. That this was a family. Fairy Tail's not a family. Not to me. Not when it kicks out my only real family. Ravan didn't do anything wrong! But you all treated him like a murderer. It's not fair. It's not fucking fair."

The ground shook then, heavily, and the surprise of it brought both of them to their knees. As Kai cried, doubling over, Marin realized it had come from him. His power. It surged in his anger and, as he cried, she felt slight tremors.

"No one told me sorry," he whispered after his tears as, still there on the ground, Marin brought him into her arms. "Or Erza. We lost someone too. My brother's gone too."

"I am sorry, Kai," she told him earnestly as her clothes only got soaked as well and they were a shivering mess, but they were one together. Always. "I'm so sorry."

They had to get home. Out of the cold. Erza was there when they did and berated their recklessness, but still went to make them hot chocolate as, after dressing in warm layers, they went to sit beside one another on the couch.

"Since when do you train in the winter?" Kai whispered softly, if not a bit bashful, after his whole tirade before. Marin had one hand in his while the other toyed with her new necklace. The other teen had noted it, but found it best not to question it. "When it's so cold?"

"I'm never going to get stronger if I don't push myself."

"Stronger?"

Marin nodded, but didn't turn to look at him as she said, "All Haven wanted, in the entire world, was to be that. Strong. When we were little kids, she and my dad would pretend to be dragons, all afternoon, out in the yard. She was gonna be one. When she got older. And then she had the chance and I… I took the lacrima. She wanted me to. She always said she didn't want it anyways, you know? That...that it's cheater magic, but… Haven never got to be any of the things she wanted. Not really. She pretended she did. She was real good at that. But she never… I wanna be strong, Kai. Like she would have been. It's my turn to be it. The dragon. For Haven. And...for myself. I deserve to be strong too, Kai."

Studying his friend for a long few moments, the other sniffled some, nodding, before looking down at their hands, interlocked. Softly, he told her, "I just always wanted things to go back to normal. Or at least how they were. And now, with Ravan gone and Haven… They're never going to be like that again. Like they were. Will it?"

She shook her head some, dropping the necklace once more. As it laid flat against her neck, Marin didn't sound nearly as sorrowful as she agreed, "No. It won't."


	11. Epilogue

If the guildhall moved on from Haven's excommunication gracefully, her death passed over it with little to no concern. Nothing changed because nothing had been affected. Sure, the Master wasn't around as much, but he'd been falling into alcohol steadily over the course of many years and wasn't much of one anyways. A master. And his wife wasn't hanging about, but it had been awhile, since she was the white haired woman that people expected to see behind the guild. No. She'd been replaced, slowly but surely, and now it was Marin that stood there, and hadn't she always?

S-Class came and passed with a half assed attempt at it, from the Master, that garnered no new members to the elite rank and time marched forward, into the winter. How it always had. How it always would.

Navi officially moved out of her parents home and into her own, many towns over, too many towns over, and Natsu was trying to figure out how he and Hap could do it, make sure to pass through the town after each and every job, while her mother only remembered her first nights. In her new place. And how the only thing that kept her from missing home was keeping busy, constantly. An easy feat, in Fairy Tail, but she had her doubts about the execution elsewhere.

"You can come home whenever you want," her mother reminded with a grin as Lucky and Iggy took care to set the set the cards they'd made for Navi there, on her coffee table and wow, she had her own coffee table. And desk. And apartment. That she would pay for.

So she smiled back at her mother and agreed, but only partly because, already, she felt like she was home.

When her book dropped, not soon after, Navi found distraction in that. Not the book itself, but the post production side of things. Locke though did loose himself. In it. He sat up, the first day he got back from a job to find a signed copy waiting for him in his mailbox, to read it straight through. It took till dawn, and he didn't hate it, but…

There was something so much better. In the mix-matched, half remembered, almost war like stories of listening to the guys up at the hall drunkenly recall. While Navi had found inspiration in her mother's methodical journaling of accounts, Locke found the life Navi breathed into the stories lacking. Too polished.

Not everything had to line up, be true, make sense, be corroborated; that wasn't how legends were made.

Ravan liked it though.

Winter was fucking cold and maybe Haven was right, he was a spoiled little shit as roughing it out there, in the forests, wasn't for him. He sat up miserably most nights, beside the fire, easily falling into the roll of watchmen for Jellal and his team. Their team, maybe, now. Guild? He didn't know. It all felt so numbing and like he was just going through the motions, but everyone in the group seemed broken and hollow and it was easy to fall in with them because no one seemed to expect much out of him.

He was just there because he was Erza's adopted son. Who harbored some sort of powerful magic.

It would almost be funny. Ironic, maybe.

He was basically what he'd hated them for, all those years. The slayer kids.

Fucking sick.

The cold was really setting in though, those past few days, and Ravan should hide it out, late at night, under the warmth of his sleeping bag, but he just couldn't sleep. Often. Or much at all. He didn't like his dreams or the thoughts that came to him as he fell into them, and it would go away, eventually.

That's what Jellal told him.

Ravan didn't ask, but the man offered it, one night, as the guy sat around the fire as well, long passed the others, though he was going over a map of some sort.

"It'll still come to you. Sometimes. Randomly. Somehow that's worse. But your nights and sleep are easier, most days. The more time you put between yourself and...whatever it is, Ravan, that you've done." The man hummed some, from the thought. "But it does go away. Everything does. Time doesn't heal wounds, like people say, but it puts distance between you and them. And everything erodes with distance."

When Navi's book came out, the next tim ehe was near a bookstore he thought might have it, he was sure to pick it up. He didn't binge it, like Locke, but found himself reading it on the coldest nights and the stories weren't as imprinted in him, as they were the others, and the connection, the cohesiveness, was much appreciated as his life felt less and less so.

Mirajane found herself glancing over it, somewhat, as she'd bought a copy to be kind, towards both Navi and Lucy, but enjoyment felt distant from her. With most things. Still, the train ride was lengthy and, as her brother sat beside her, silent and saturnine, she found the stories kept her interest a bit better.

She'd come to Elfman just the afternoon before and requested something of him that he couldn't deny her. Canceled, even, the plans he'd made. Just to do it.

"I'm ready," Mira told him though her voice trembled a bit. "I want to go see her."

So they rode out that day, to do so. He was running over in his mind, Elfman was, the memories he tried to suppress, hoping he could recall with ease the location. He wanted the experience to be as cathartic for his sister as possible. Getting lost would kind of distract from that..

It wasn't as difficult as he feared, however. Finding the place. Rather, it was the intense recollections that he'd tried so hard to forget and he felt sick, not like a man at all, as they walked through the woods that afternoon. It had snowed recently, but not that day, but was still nice and white in most places, the deeper they got, as only small critter tracks littered the pearly mounds.

At the sight of the stone there, facing the edge of the cliff, snow littered atop and around it, Elfman broke. He cried, just as he had, when he picked the spot just for his niece. Mirajane only continued on as he hung back, weeping into his hands.

Before the grave then, Mirajane's eyes traced the zigzag her husband's bolts had left, etched into the makeshift grave stone as she bent down, getting her dress covered in fluffy white snow.

"Are you okay? Sis?"

She didn't glance up as Elfman's boots crunched over the frosty ground and instead just kept staring, down now, as she laid a hand over it. The grave. Blinking, she thought tears might fall, but none came, and Mira didn't know how she knew, but she just did. She knew.

"My daughter's not here," Mira told him, softly, as Elfman nodded his head.

"I know," he agreed. "She's...in a better place or whatever. I just…I liked it here. Overlooking the rest of the forest. Above everything else. Haven was always above everything else."

"No." Shaking her head, Mirajane lifted her eyes to the muscular man as she insisted, "My daughter's not here. I would feel it, Elf, if she was. I would feel her. She's not… I thought that I would feel something. But… Haven's not here."

Perhaps she meant spiritually, perhaps she meant metaphorically, but what Mirajane didn't realize as she stood and Elfman came to pat her on the shoulders was that she was corrected. She was no longer standing over her daughter's grave.

It had been a beating. All those years. Waiting. Going through henchmen after henchmen, waiting endlessly that was certain to come. And when it did, they descended, a pair of them, shovels in hand, to dig at the just a day before pact dirt. They even got caught, just about, when Ravan returned for him bag. But he didn't go over to the nearby grave. Lost in his own self, noting Haven's not being there, maybe he kind of hoped that...that..well...

"What exactly," the female of the pair of gravediggers asked, following Ravan's departure, "is the point of all this? Have you ever asked?"

"You don't ask questions. To the boss." The man even shook his head. "If he wants ya to know, he'll tell ya."

"Awe, come on. I'm out here, about to have to fucking pick up a dead body, and I can't even know what we're doing with it?"

"Tell ya what. Just for you?" He grinned, the man did, as he tossed dirt over his shoulder. "I'll tell ya everything. See, years ago, this lady down here, the boss captured her. When she was a just little kid. Things didn't go as planned, but, uh, he put some kinda...spell on her. Fed it to her. Something. A potion. See, she was supposed to get a lacrima put in her. By the boss. Get all powerful and strong. Then, eventually, he'd kill her. Or she'd drop dead of somethin' else. Either way, he needed the body still warm, ya know? To extract it?"

"So this dead woman down here has a lacrima in her?"

"Not exactly."

"But-"

"He just needs her body. That's all I've been told about it." The man wiped at his brow and remarked, "Just be glad, huh? This spell, it preserves her. And will for a few more days. If we didn't get to her in time, man, it would stink. Ya ever dug up a grave before?"

Frowning some, the woman tried to not think much about it as she whispered, "It's my first."

"Dead body too? Man. How privileged are you? Been dealing with the dead my whole life. It's how I ran into him. The boss man. There's certain...talents of mine that he found useful. These past few years."

"How long have you been on this job?"

"Huh?"

"To wait around. For the woman to...die. How long have you-"

"'bout a year. I was doing some other...less desirable things."

"How much less desirable can you get? Defiling a person's grave?"

"Do you really want to know?"

She really didn't.

They worked for what felt like hours until, finally, there was a peek of her, the blonde, right there. Not bloated or excreting any of the disgusting liquids a body might, in such a state. No. Just perfect. Like the boss had said it would be.

"Ah, now here she is. The prize."

They had to work together, to get her out of there, the man and the woman. She was extremely skittish about the whole thing and, honestly, was more than a bit bothered by the request. She'd only just recently joined up after having been seduced by the boss man, on power, mostly. What he could offer her. If she just proved her worth some.

Before, he'd speaking of something different, but now, as he awaited the arrival of his granddaughter, Ivan hardly cared about the sacrifice the woman was soon to make.

"So," the woman asked after the man had her then, Haven, hiked over one shoulder, "do we...put the dirt back? In the hole? I mean, what if they come back? For her? Or what if they come to dig her up? Eventually? Does that matter? Are we gonna put her back eventually or-"

"It was kinda lucky. When I first got this job, I mean, everyone who got it, before me did, it was gonna be trickier. Than this." He positioned Haven just so, on his shoulder, so she would fall off. Dead weight was a lot to shoulder. "Break into a morgue or rob a graveyard. That sort of thing. But nope. This dope, right here, dies out in the middle of nowhere. Forces her poor family to dig a grave. Leave her in it. Couldn't have had it written up better if he tried, the boss couldn't. And having you so nearby, to help me dig the body up. What luck."

"So...what do we do now? I mean, take her back, but we have to fill in the hole first, right? Like I asked? Or are you just gonna ignore me."

"I'm not ignoring you." One hand was on Haven, holding her still, while the other rose then and, as the other woman stood before the once more empty grave, he had the perfect angle for it. "I dunno if her family will come back or not, ya know? Who does? If they'll dig her up. The boss man, he doesn't know either. So he had me take ya out here, you know? As a safety measure."

"What? I don't understand." But she did. Or she was starting to. "I- You can't do this to me. You can't. Ivan said that I would be useful to him. That he needed me. My magic. I-"

"Yeah, maybe he did. Before." Raising a hand, he made held up a finger pistol, literally. Just his forefinger, outstretched, towards her. "Bang."

A tiny, green magic circle appeared and a a bullet jumped out, striking the blonde woman right through the heart. She fell back, in great agony, into the grave she'd freshly robbed.

"Shit." The man above her realized something then. With her dead, no one was around to fill back in the hole. Groaning, he was quick to set Haven back down on the ground as he grumbled some, rushing to get it over and done with.

He needed to get back to Ivan.

Once finished, he was a bit winded, but determined all the same. Hiking Haven back up on his shoulder, he held tight to her with one hand as he used his second famed skill, teleportation, vanishing into the thin air and appearing, once more, in the lair of his lord liege.

"Quick! Quick!" Ivan didn't even greet him. Just the sight of him, there, with her. Haven. His granddaughter. It gave him a start and a fear, as, finally, he was so close, so very close, to putting his plan into fruition, and yet so, so far, and every second mattered, every moment. He'd dedicated years to this. It couldn't fail him. "Take her to the room! It's been prepared. I've fetched the mages who will work on her. Lay her down, gentle, gentle, on the table. Look at her. My granddaughter."

As the next few days, weeks, and months would be emotional turmoil for the girl's true family, the estranged member felt much the same. He would stalk around the lair, demanding updates and frequently launching into the story. The tale. Of how he came to decide the only way to get what was his, what belonged to him, was through his oldest granddaughter's death.

He actually didn't know about it. For a few years. He thought Haven had been given the lacrima, after Laxus disappeared with it, and as he'd already used the spell, undetected, he imagined if she grew into adulthood, the recklessness of the guild combined with the fire he'd felt, inside of her, would lead to a quick turn over.

But then he found out.

"That moron. Laxus. My son." Ivan grumbled this frequently, to the workers in the lab, as he stood around in the basement, where the transition took place. Tireless work. All to get Haven prepared. And ready. For what was coming next. Well, not Haven exactly. "He gave it to the younger one. The weaker one. What a waste. I thought. But then I found something out. Something quite interesting. She participated in a tournament, the white haired one. It wasn't much, but she held her own. My lacrima, it flourishes, inside of her. But I needed a way to get it back. How. How to get it back. How to reclaim it. I am not...what I once was. To go against my son again… No. I had ot have someone who he would never harm. He could never kill. Who the white haired one would never harm. And that, my dear granddaughter, is where you will come in."

He couldn't speak to her. Not directly. Though her body began once more to draw breath, in the days following her arrival, it was in vain. Through magic he'd long held and hoped would labor some sort of a promise, he brought her back to life. But not her. Just enough of her. A carcass. A shell.

"The soul's gone," he sighed one day as she laid there, nude beneath a sheet, on a cold metal operating table, done for the day it seemed. Reaching out, he stroked her warm cheek fondly. "The mind. Just an empty vessel. And what, my dear, do you think I should fill the hole with? Hmm?"

She actually helped him, in her final year, Haven did. Without knowing it, of course. The magic she thought she was using, to access the God Slayer Lightning, had far more a hand in the demonic than originally thought. She wasn't possessing something, but rather, as the blackness took her eye and tried in vain to climb inside of her brain, she was opening herself up to possession. Which was perfect, for Ivan. Her body already being accustomed to it.

Possession.

Just an empty vessel. One that smelled just like her. Haven. Had all the scars, even the final one, that was supposed to claim her life. Access to her memories, just floating all about, Ivan was sure, waiting to be taken over. In limbo.

"When you're strong," he told the shell of the woman frequently, "you will go and reclaim what is mine. It grow more and more powerful every day. Crave it out. Rip it out. And if he tries to stop you, take the first one that was stole from me as well. From my son. Your father. Imagine the power. You'll hold them both, in your hands, two of the most powerful lacrimas ever in existence. I wonder, if from hell, my precious granddaughter, you will look on and be jealous of your body doing without you what you never could. At any cost necessary."

More powerful.

Every day.

He wasn't wrong, anyways.

About the power.

Growing.

Every single day.

On the first of spring, it stood, in fact, in waist deep water as the sun rose slowly against the dark sky. Marin. There. Alone it felt like, in the cool waters of the early dawn.

She wasn't alone though. Out there. No. They were on a vacation of sorts, that Erza paid for. Following a bout of a few successful jobs, the woman felt back to her old self and wanted the two teens to feel the same. So she took them from the hall, promising Marin they wouldn't be gone for long, and rented out a lake house for a weekend.

"So you can still train," Erza told her with a grin and a nod, as she knew this was important to the girl.

Every day.

Every single day.

Better.

Stronger.

Raising a hand there, with her eyes closed, in the still waters, she could feel it bubbling up inside of her. Her lacrima. Her power. Limitless. How Haven always wanted hers to be.

Erza watched, from the deck, sipping at her coffee as the skies lightened and the day truly began. She'd intended to glance over the final few chapters she had left, in Navi's book, but her attention was taken by Marin and only Marin. It was silent, her observations, but this changed when Kai came yawning through the back door to tumble into a deck chair.

"Why do you both get up so early?" he groaned as he threw an arm over his eyes. Still, peeking around it, he glanced down at the lake below, where Marin stood all alone, contorting water with ease.

And he fell silent too. For a good bit. Erza thought he might be sleeping once more before, eventually, he posed a question.

"Hey, Erza? Do you think..." Kai swallowed some, leveling his thoughts. "I think that Marin's great and strong and...but… Do you think she can really ever do it? What she says? Be as strong as them? Her father and Gajeel and all the other slayers? Or even...better?"

Letting out a long, deep sigh, Erza bowed her head before letting a soft smile grace her lips. As she looked to the teen, his arm dropped completely and he took notice of the honesty laced in her tone.

"I always have."

This settled Kai, who fell back into his chair and Erza only continued to watch, from her elevated position, not realizing how true her words had to be. Needed to be. For what was coming for the girl, would soon be upon the girl, would come relentlessly and tirelessly. Reclamation would soon be upon them.

So Marin had to be those things. Better. Stronger. Faster. Smarter. More powerful than she could dream.

It was the only way any of them were to survive.


End file.
